19 years without Stevie Ray

To complete the summer portion of the "In Step" tour, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble played two shows on August 25 & 26 at Alpine Valley Theatre in East Troy, WI, while on tour with Eric Clapton. For travel to the next venue, the tour manager reserved four helicopters to circumvent congested highway traffic. In very dense fog, the helicopters were clear for lift-off at 12:40 A.M. Just past the lift-off zone was a 300-foot hill. Vaughan's helicopter pilot was unfamiliar with the flight pattern for exiting the area, and did not climb to sufficient altitude immediately after take-off. Vaughan's helicopter veered off to one side and crashed into the hill. According to the findings as reported by the National Transportation Safety Board, the cause of the accident was determined to be inadequate planning by the pilot, and failure to attain sufficient altitude to clear an obstacle. Fog and haze, as well as the rising terrain were listed as contributing factors. All occupants including Vaughan, the pilot and three members of Eric Clapton's travel group were killed on impact. On August 31, 1990, funeral services were held for Vaughan in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas. Brother Jimmie, mother Martha, and girlfriend Janna were in attendance. Among the mourners were all three members of ZZ Top, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Wonder, and Jackson Browne. Vaughan was interred at Laurel Land Memorial Park in Oak Cliff, a part of Dallas, Texas.

* Listen to Texas Flood.

* Listen to Look at little sister.

* Listen to Love struck baby.

* Listen to The sky is crying.

BRIAN SETZER ORCHESTRA MEETS FILM NOIR ON ‘SONGS FROM LONELY AVENUE’

Rockabilly guitar-slinger, big band impresario, and all-around cool cat Brian Setzer takes a walk on the dark side with his film noir-inspired new album ‘Songs From Lonely Avenue,’ out October 13th on Surfdog Records.

With a propulsive rhythm, an ominous minor key, wickedly good instrumental solos and the familiar character of the Devil up to his old tricks, opening track “Trouble Train” sets the mood for the whole album (with echoes of that other great song about Lucifer, Charlie Daniels’ “Devil Went Down to Georgia”). Throughout the rest of the album, thugs prowl the street, young couples dance the night away in New York, hearts are broken, and lives are taken, all over pitch-perfect melodies and arrangements.

Comprising ten vocal tracks and three instrumentals, ‘Songs from Lonely Avenue’ marks the first time Setzer has written every track on an album. With all the scope of a Raymond Chandler novel or an Orson Welles film, it’s his most ambitious project to date.

And as he did on 2007’s ‘Wolfgang’s Big Night Out,’ Setzer recruited 87-year-old Frank Comstock, one of the most important and inventive arrangers of instrumental music of the last century, to score the horn arrangements. Comstock wrote music for many of the era’s top artists, including Doris Day, Sonny Dunham, Benny Carter and Judy Garland (not to mention the “Rocky & Bullwinkle” theme!).

Furthermore, the “New King Of Jingle Bell Rock” (Billboard) Brian Setzer and his 18-piece big band will kick off their seventh Christmas Extravaganza 27-date tour on November 20th in Detroit. This fall, Surfdog Records will re-release Setzer’s hugely successful collection of yuletide music: ‘Christmas Rocks’ as well as the ‘Ultimate Christmas’ CD and DVD combination- songs that have become part of the holiday tradition for millions over the last several years.

From launching the rockabilly revolution with the Stray Cats to pioneering the swing revival with the Brian Setzer Orchestra, this Long Island-born innovator has earned his unique place in modern music by walking the line between conceptual discipline and balls-out rockin’. Setzer won three Grammy Awards (two for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for “Sleepwalk” from The Dirty Boogie in 1998 and “Caravan” from VaVoom in 2000, plus one for Best Pop Performance with “Jump, Jive an' Wail,” also from The Dirty Boogie) by targeting that place where wild energy and visionary imagination intersect.

* Listen to Trouble train.

* Listen to Lonely avenue.

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The Blue Ridge Rangers rides again

+ John Fogerty is going to release his new album, entitled "John Fogerty and The Blue Ridge Rangers rides again". Check out his page to listen to John and Bruce Springsteen cover a Everly Brothers' wonderful tune "When will I be loved".

+ The track list includes songs from Buck Owens, Ray Price, Rickie Nelson and other great artists:

* Paradise (John Prine)
* Never Ending Song of Love (Bonnie Bramett/Delaney Bramlett)
* Garden Party (Rick Nelson)
* I Don’t Care (Just As Long As You Love Me) (Buck Owens)
* Back Home Again (John Denver)
* I’ll Be There (If You Ever Want Me) (Ray Price/Rusty Gabbard)
* Change in the Weather (John Fogerty)
* Moody River (Gary Bruce)
* Heaven’s Just a Sin Away (Jerry Gillespie)
* Fallin’ Fallin’ Fallin’ (D. Deckleman/J. Guillot/J.D. Miller)
* Haunted House (Robert L.Geddins)
* When Will I Be Loved (Phil Everly)

+ Sure you know it is great!

Elizabeth & the Catapult

+ Some adjectives critics have given at Elizabeth & The Catapult:

• jazzy chamber-pop
• breezy melodies
• precisely arranged but casually presented tunes
• Tin Pan Alley pop
• “Taller Children” and “Race You” are “Class A indie pop”

* the band's performance on World Café: You can stream the show online HERE!

* If you have yet to see them live, check out their performance at the Paste offices- HERE!

* Their video for “Taller Children” HERE!

* Listen to "Taller Children" here!

* Elizabeth & crew sat down with NPR's All Things Considered!

* E&TC on NYC's Soundcheck HERE!:

The Boxmasters

+ Billy Bob Thornton, the actor behind so many excellent films (not including Bad Santa), plays good old rockabilly with his group The Boxmasters. Their modern mix is irresistible!

+ Two good records (The Boxmasters and Modbilly) are there for you to know them.

* Listen to Poor house.

Reno’s sparkling ahead honey I thought I’d give you a call.
I’m looking for tomorrow to be sunny in the midst of this snowfall.
I let you and the kids down for way too long now,
I’m hoping to turn our life around if I can just figure out how.

I’m working on a plan to save our home
Keep us outta the poor house, pay off those loans
I’m working on a plan to save our home
Keep us outta the poor house, and I won’t do it stoned.

I’ll sit with the grannies at the nickel machines
and pull handles til my hands are blue
I’ll do just about anything to bring a future home to you
I put down the Pales and liquor
You know I tried to keep a job
I just think this’d be quicker
If I could win a little off the mob

I’m working on a plan to save our home
Keep us outta the poor house, pay off those loans
I’m working on a plan to save our home
Keep us outta the poor house, now that I’m not stoned.

Well my plan didn’t work exactly honey, but I do have a little good news:
I’m not bringing home any money, but I didn’t turn back the booze.
I guess it’s back to the drawing board, ideas are starting to brew
I’m bringing back all I can afford and that’s love to the kids and you.

I’m working on a plan to save our home
Keep us outta the poor house, pay off those loans
I’m working on a plan to save our home
Keep us outta the poor house, and build a house of stone

* Or listen to Turn it over.

+ Great Billy!

Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears

+ Chicago native BRYAN SCARY recorded his 2007 debut solo, before recruiting the rest of THE SHREDDING TEARS and setting up shop in Brooklyn. The five-piece group features Graham Norwood on guitar, Mike Acreman on keys, David Ostrem on bass, and Brian Bauer on drums, with Scary on vocals and keys. BSST has been called "psychedelic," "progressive," "quirky," and "strange," but they consider themselves first and foremost a pop band. 2008's FLIGHT OF THE KNIFE fused glam, psych rock, and theatrical 70s pop with science fiction narratives and elaborate children's stories. A conceptual tour-de-force, the album hit #6 on the iTunes Rock Chart after being made Editor's Choice, and amassed a significant cult following. The group continues to win fans with their flamboyant and maniacally-energetic stage shows -- multimedia events which showcase the band's story-telling and flair for the dramatic.

BSST's new EP, MAD VALENTINES, is a joint release with Elijah Woods' Simian Records and Old Flame Records - it will drop on October 27th. The band recorded the album in LA with producer Jonathan Sadoff (a member of the band thenewno2). An additional EP track was then recorded in Brooklyn and produced by Bryce Goggin (Pavement, The Apples In Stereo). The lead-off track on the EP, "Andromeda's Eyes," is available here.

Zac Brown Band, country and pride

+ Listen to this, today it's friday. We are not in the USA, but in Murcia. It's steaming, hot as hell, but tonight:

You know I like my chicken fried
Cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio up

* Listen to Zac Brown Band and imagine listening to the radio while drinking cold beer and eating, well, fried chicken (or lamb or whatever you fancy).