THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, July 24, 2009
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
John Peel by Paul Burch
You Used to Live It Up by Tom Armstrong
Hot Rod King by Kris Hollis Key
Goin' Down the Road by Pine Valley Cosmonauts
Shooting Over the Head by Ray Mason
Living on the Road Again by Artie Hill & The Long Gone Daddies
I'm Just a Honky by The Ex Husbands
Juke Joint Jumping by Wayne Hancock & Hank Williams III
Can't Help It Blues by Hasil Adkins

Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Blue by Scott H. Biram
The Ones You Say You Love by Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys
Shake a Leg by Kim Lenz & Her Jaguars
If the Back Door Could Talk by Randy Kohrs
Downey Girl byt Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women
Beer's on the Way by Mike Neal
Window Up Above by The Blasters
Don't You See That Train by The Delmore Brothers

Wishful Thinking by Aimee Hoyt
Pretty Girl by Miss Leslie
The Willow Tree by Exene Cervenka
Quiet Desperation by John Doe
The End of Ol' Johnny by The Electric Rag Band
In New Orleans by C.W. Stone King
George Jones Talkin' Cell Phone Blues by The Drive-By Truckers
You Stole My Motorcycle by Mama Rosin

The Guitar by Guy Clark
Gasoline and Matches by Buddy & Julie Miller
Marie by Steve Earle
Weakness in a Man by Waylon Jennings
Many Happy Hangovers to You by Leona Williams
I'll Sign My Heart Away by Merle Haggard
When I Was a Cowboy by Odetta
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list

TERRELL'S TUNEUP:BIRAM, STRAITJACKETS & COOL CAJUN SOUNDS

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
July 24, 2009

The “Dirty Old One Man Band” is back.

On his latest album, Something’s Wrong/Lost Forever, Scott H. Biram of Austin, Texas, shouldn’t disappoint his fans who expect crazed, boozy blues romps.

The album starts out with a desperate voice mail to a friend from the singer, who claims he’s being held as a prisoner at some hospital. The first actual song, “Hospital Escape,” starts out with strains of a slow church organ before Biram comes in with his trademark distorted vocals on a simmering blues with the paradoxical refrain, “Time flies when you’re going down slow.”

Overall, Biram continues to live up to the promise of the title of perhaps his greatest early tune, “Blood, Sweat, and Murder.”

On the new album, Biram goes nuts with the over-amped five-minute blues cruncher “Hard Times” (aided by John Wesley Meyers with terse organ accompaniment). On the hard-driving “The Wishing Well,” you can’t tell what he’s singing, but when you hear the police sirens come in toward the last of the song, you know some kind of trouble is afoot. And “Feel So Good,” a Big Bill Broonzy song sounds like Hound Dog Taylor on a gas-huffing high.

But there are several songs here that could almost be described as (gulp) “pretty.” That’s certainly the case with “Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Blue,” a sweet honky-tonker that George Jones could absolutely kill. “Draggin’ Down the Line,” featuring Biram on acoustic guitar, is a “life on the road” tune that finds the singer in a reflective mood. And though “Wildside” features a delightfully obnoxious grungy electric guitar, it can’t hide a very soulful melody.

Biram gets philosophical in the harmonica gospel tune called “Ain’t It a Shame.” Written by 1940s gospel star Elder Roma Wilson, it’s a simple call for peace, racial harmony, and getting right with God. Biram sounds sweet and sincere.

But Biram sounds more natural in the following song, “Judgment Day.” It’s a blues apocalypse with lyrical references to Jesus, Buddha, Hitler, Frankenstein, the Ku Klux Klan, and the boogie man.

This is American music at its crazy finest.

Also recommended:

* The Further Adventures of Los Straitjackets. Following their excellent Rock En Espanol, Vol. 1 — which featured the masked men from Nashville backing Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos, Little Willie G. of Thee Midnighters, and Big Sandy of the Fly-Right Boys on Chicano rock classics — Los Straitjackets return to their bread and butter with an impressive set of guitar instrumentals. Lead guitarist Eddie Angel and the boys carry on the tradition of Link Wray, Dick Dale, and The Ventures.

My favorite on this collection is “Teen Beast,” in which the jungle drums of Jason Smay nearly overshadow the guitars. Also steaming with bitchenicity is “Tubby,” featuring sax by “Kaiser” George Miller and some downright hairy fuzz guitar. And they get nice and garage-y in “Blow Out,” with guest fuzz-bassist Jake Guralnick.

“Catalina,” in which Angel shows his mastery of the whammy bar, might be the prettiest song Los Straitjackets have recorded since they covered “My Heart Will Go On” (yes, Céline Dion’s love theme from Titantic) a decade ago. Another suave slow dance is “Mercury,” which might remind you of ancient surfy theme songs from The Endless Summer or A Summer Place.

Cajuntopia: Old Cajuns, young Cajuns, real Cajuns, fake Cajuns. In recent months three new albums of good stompin’, screechy fiddled, accordion zingin’ Cajun music have crossed my path. Here’s a glance at those:

* Alligator Purse by BeauSoleil. Michael Doucet and band have been recording for nearly 35 years, but they still manage to sound fresh. That’s no surprise to anyone who has seen BeauSoleil’s live shows.

There’s not a weak spot on this album. BeauSoleil performs some classic bayou tunes such as “Bosco Stomp” (which Doug Kershaw fans will recognize as the melody of “Cajun Stripper”).

The group does a Cajun version of R & B on “Marie” and “I Spent All My Money Loving You” (feat the instantly recognizable Garth Hudson of The Band on organ). And even though Natalie Merchant usually sounds like an art-school waif, when she sings with Doucet on “Little Darlin’ ” she sounds outright hillbilly. (And that’s John Sebastian of The Lovin’ Spoonful on harmonica on that track.

* Homage Au Passé by The Pine Leaf Boys. Here’s evidence that Doucet and other middle-aged purveyors of Cajun music have been successful in their mission to keep the flame of this sound alive.

The Pine Leaf Boys are a youthful quintet from rural southwest Louisiana led by Wilson Savoy and Cedric Watson. They play good old Cajun dance music, sung in Cajun French. While traditional, the Pine Leafers know how to rock.

Their best songs are the up-tempo romps like “Country Playboy Special” and the zydeco-sounding — actually it almost sounds like Cajun rockabilly — “J’suis Gone Pour Me Saouler,” although the waltzes like “Newport Waltz” and the acoustic “T’es Pas la Même” sound mighty nice too.

* Brule Lentement by Mama Rosin. The cover of this CD will catch the eye of Velvet Underground fans. It looks like a red version of Warhol’s banana, which graced the cover of the Velvet’s first album. But on second glance, it’s a cayenne pepper.

This is Swiss punk Cajun from the irascible Voodoo Rhythm Records. But the punk element shouldn’t imply that the members of Mama Rosin are disrespectful to Cajun and zydeco traditions. The love they have for this music is obvious at every turn. They just play it a little faster most of the time.

Actually, I think BeauSoleil would sound pretty good playing “You Stole My Motorcycle” and it’s not even a stretch to imagine The Pine Leaf Boys doing “When the Police Came.”

BLOG BONUS:

Here's a video of Elder Roma Wilson singing "Ain't It a Shame" and other gospel clips.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, July 19, 2009
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
Webcasting!
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
I Feel So Good by Scott H. Biram
Monkey Man by Jim Dickinson
Agent Secreto by The Plugz
Daisies Up Your Butterfly by The Cramps
You Can't Sit Down by Wolfman Jack & The Wolfpack
Ride Danny Ride by Nekromantix
Going Away Baby by Paul "Wine" Jones
Tiger Man by Rufus Thomas
Wolfman Romp by The Juke Joint Pimps
They Ring the Bells for Me by Rev. Beat-Man & The Unbelievers

Excorcism of Despair by The New York York Dolls
Get Lost by Quan & The Chinese Takeouts
Psychedelic Swamp by The Fleshtones
Black Grease by The Black Angels
Mexican Caravan by The Butthole Surfers
Smashing by Shrunken Heads
It's Lame by Figures of Light
Weird by Bob Vidone & The Rhythmrockers
Twisted by Annie Ross

Burn it Down by The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker
Girl Gunslinger by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Land of the Freak by King Khan & The Shrines
Let's Get a Groove On by Lee Fields
Please Part 2 by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Come Together by Dr. Lonnie Smith
Damn it's Hot, Part 2 by Sharon Jones
My Wig Fell Off by Root Boy Slim & The Sex Change Band

Armstrong, Aldrin & Collins by The Byrds
Flying Saucer Rock 'n' Roll by Robert Gordon with Link Wray
I Dig Them Little Green Men by The Uglies & JD with 1/5
Wayfaring Stranger/Fly Me To the Moon by Giant Sand
Over It by Dinsosaur Jr.
Stay Where You Are by Sleater-Kinney
Instant Karma by John Lennon
Speedo is Back by The Cadillacs
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, July 17, 2009
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
I Saw it On TV by John Fogerty (for Walter Cronkite)
1968 by Alejandro Escovedo
Blue Moon of Kentucky by Wanda Jackson
Ain't it a Shame by Scott H. Birham
My Baby Cried All Night Long by John Schooley
Buddy I Ain't Buyin' by Big Sandy & The Flyright Boys
Boss of the Blues by Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women

George Jones Talkin' Cell Phone Blues by The Drive-By Truckers
Keeping Up With The Joneses by The Austin Lounge Lizards
Choices by George Jones
Screwtopia by Patterson Hood
Kiss Me Big by Marti Brom
Knot Hole by Robbie Fulks
Big City Goodtime Gal by Wayne Hancock
Corrine Corina by Merle Haggard
Be Careful (If You Can't Be Good) by Ray Condo & His Richochets

Drugstore Truckdrivin' Man by Jason & The Scorchers
Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts) by BR5-49
Party Mad by Rev. Horton Heat
Is Anybody Going to San Antone by Charlie Pride
Bongo Ride by Jon Rauhouse
High Priced Chick by Yuichi & The Hilltone Boys
Sal's Got a Sugar Lip by Johnny Horton
Flamin' Maimie by Hank Penny
Half Ton Mama by Joe, Ron & George
Three Times Seven by Doc & Merle Watson

Don't Let the Devil Ride by Clarence Fountain & Sam Butler
Trouble in My Way by Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens
No Strange Fruit by Wildsang
Bring Back Storyville by Guy Davis
Rock Island Line by Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band
The Rue of Ruby Whores by Michael Hurley
Pie in the Sky by Utah Phillips & Ani DiFranco
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: YOU READ IT HERE FIRST

This week's column was a quick and easy "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" effort. It was quick and easy, because I wrote most of it on this very blog.

So rather than reprinting it here, I'll just link to the posts I drew upon.

* The Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks show at The Santa Fe Brewing Co.

* Hootenanny 2009 in Irvine, Calif.

and just a dab from ...

* Rev. Beat Man & His Blues Trash Trio at Corazon. (Rob DeWalt wrote a full review for Pasatiempo, but, sadly, I don't think it's online.)

If you really want to see the column itself, try The New Mexican Web Site version.

REV. BEAT-MAN BRINGS ROCK 'n' ROLL SALVATION TO SF

What a way to end my summer vacation!

Rev. Beat-Man & his Blues Trash Trio brought their sleazy salvation show all the way from Bern, Switzerland to Santa Fe's Corazon last night and delivered rage and glory, mutilated gospel and Voodoo Rhythm to New Mexico. It was a hell of a show.

Beat-Man and band (Robert "Brother Panti-Christ" Butler on lap steel and percussion, Delaney Davidson on guitar and harmonica and Jeff Ross on Drums) worked the crowd into a good frenzy.

They performed most of my favorite songs from the Surreal Folk Blues Gospel Trash albums -- "Jesus Christ Twist," "The Clown of the Town," "I've Got the Devil Inside," "Jesus," (which Beat-Man described as "a love song to a man") culminating with the Rev's signature sermon, "The Beat-Man Way," a crazy mish-mash of the sacred and profane which in the end is Beat-Man's answer to Sammy Davis Jr.'s "I've Got to Be Me."

For the last few years I've felt like a lone nut ranting and raving about Beat-Man and his Voodoo Rhythm Records stable mates. You know Santa Fe. It's easier to get people to believe in chemtrails than to get them excited about some obscure source of crazy rock 'n' roll.

So last night it was a real pleasure to rock out with so many other folks -- it was a nice sized crowd especially for fickle Santa Fe on a Monday night -- hip to the Beat-Man Way.

Beat-Man and the boys were happy about the show. Hopefully they'll be back and they'll leave a hobo mark on the gate to let other Voodoo Rhythm bands -- Hipbone Slim & The Knee Tremblers, Stinky Lou & The Goon Mat, The Watzloves, King Automatic, Thee Butchers Orchestra -- know that Santa Fe is hospitable.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, July 12, 2009
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
You're Telling Me Lies by Question Mark & The Mysterians
I Want What You Got by The Plimsouls
Bloodletting by Concrete Blonde
Surfin' Crow by The Jades
Who You Driving Now by Mudhoney
Burn the Flames by Roky Erikson
Boneyard (Dick Tracy) by The Blasters
My Shark by King Automatic
Get Out of the Car by Richard Berry

Jack Rabbit by The Strawmen
Bearded and Bored by Quan & The Chinese Takeouts
Conjuration by The Tex-Rays
Yumma 2 by The Fuzzy Set
Hate You Baby by Marshmellow Overcoat
Punk Slime by Black Lips
Ham and Oil by The Hentchmen
Crime in the Streets by Shrunken Heads
Wolfman Boogie (Part 1) by Wolfman Jack


Beat-Man Set
Clown of the Town by Rev. Beat-Man
Radio Interview/Moonlight by Jerry J. Nixon
Down the Road by The Monsters
Blue Moon of Kentucky by Rev. Beat-Man
Apartment Wrestling Rock 'n' Roll by Lightning Beat-Man
San Francisco by Die Zorros
Bad Treatment by Rev. Beat-Man & The Church of Herpes
The Beat-Man Way by Rev. Beat-Man

(Rev. Beat-Man & His Blues Trash Trio are at Corazon 9 pm Monday. Tickets a mere $5)

Rollin' Machine by The Seeds
I Started a Joke by The Dirtbombs
Motorpsycho by Nekromantix
Mama Talk to Your Daughter by Johnny Winter
Teen Beast by Los Straightjackets
Callin' in Twisted by Rev. Horton Heat
Mechanical Flattery by Lydia Lunch
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, July 10, 2009
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Lonesome, Onery and Mean by Waylon Jennings
Too Sweet to Die by The Waco Brothers
Precious Memories (The Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised) by The Blasters
Honky Tonk Girl by The Rev. Horton Heat
Volver Volver by Los Lobos
Estrellita del Norte by Steve Jordan
Spanish Two Step by Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys
Golden Triangle by The Austin Lounge Lizards

Lonesome and Sad by Rev. Beat-Man
(We're Gonna) Wang Dang Doodle by Jerry J. Nixon
Time Flies by Scott Birham
Rockin' Daddy by Sonny Fisher & The Rockin' Boys
Pick a Bale of Cotton by Flathead
Bottle of Wine by The Fireballs
Hot Rodding in San Jose by The Legendary Stardust Cowboy
Hard-Headed Me by Roger Miller
I Love Onions by Susan Christy

Whiskey Flats by E. Christina Herr & Wild Frontier
It Was Either Whiskey or the Wife by Cornell Hurd
Drinkin' Blues by Wayne Hancock

Good BBQ by The Riptones
One Foot in the Grave by Johnny Dilks
The Cold Hard Facts of Life by T. Tex Edwards & Out on Parole
Black Cat by Tommy Collins
You're Bound to Look Like a Monkey by Hank Penny
Hold That Critter Down by Sons of the Pioneers

Freight Train Boogie by Doc Watson
Whole Lotta Things by Southern Culture on the Skids
Guitar Pickin' Man by Jimmie Dee
Drinkin' Wine by Gene Simmons
Night Train to Memphis by Roy Acuff
Red Necks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer by Johnny Russell
(You've Been Quite a Doll) Raggedy Anne by Little Jimmy Dickens
Heavy on the Lonesome by Miss Leslie & The Juke Jointers
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list

TERRELL'S TUNEUP:LINE CAMP LESSONS & WELCOMING BEAT-MAN

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
July 10, 2009

Of all the bars, nightclubs, and music venues that influenced my career as a journalist, none compared with the Line Camp in Pojoaque.

If you’ve moved to the area in the last 23 years or so, you might not be familiar with the fabled watering hole. The Line Camp, located less than 20 miles north of the city on U.S. 84/285, was a major center of music in Northern New Mexico between 1979 and 1986. (And in its previous incarnation, between 1938 and 1976, the building was called the Pojoaque Tavern.)

Not only did I hear a shipload of great music at the Line Camp and get to meet and interview a lot of fine musicians — John Lee Hooker, Etta James, Doc Watson, Flaco Jimenez, Peter Rowan, Jerry Jeff Walker, Richie Havens, Charlie Musselwhite, Maria Muldaur, and New Riders of the Purple Sage among them — but I learned lessons in journalism there that guide me today.

The main lesson is that it’s not a great idea to get drunk before conducting interviews.

The occasion was an early 1980 Line Camp show by Taj Mahal. I was in my late 20s then and freelancing for the Santa Fe Reporter.

It was my second interview ever. The first had been a couple of weeks before with folk singer Dave Van Ronk. At that show I’d gone backstage at the Armory for the Arts and made contact with Van Ronk, who almost immediately suggested that we go to a bar to do the interview. We did. I got loaded, though not as much as Van Ronk did. He was gracious, loquacious, and quotable. I had a great time, turned out a decent article, and thought, "The journalism scam is for me."

But the Taj interview didn’t turn out as well. Just like the night with Van Ronk, I had a few drinks. But this time I was drinking while Taj played — before the interview.

My then-wife and I got into a fight. She got angry and left me stranded at the Line Camp. By the time I went back to the dressing room for the interview, I was in no shape to be talking to anyone. Taj was nice enough to talk with me, but I don’t really remember much he said.

After hitchhiking home that night, the next morning I found my notes were illegible gibberish (even worse than usual) and my cheap tape recorder had malfunctioned. Taj’s voice was a barely audible and unintelligible rumble. My story turned out to be a salvage-job review of what I remembered of the show and some background information on the singer and his band. It had virtually no quotes from Taj.

I was surprised when the Reporter decided to pay me for it anyway.

Fortunately, I have many happier (and clearer) memories of the Line Camp. One of my biggest thrills was when honky-tonk titan Hank Thompson played there and the guy who introduced me to him was none other than Roger Miller, who was living in Tesuque at the time.

And about a year after my disastrous Taj interview, Taj came back to the Line Camp and his opening act was me. Nobody argued that the wrong singer was headlining, but nobody booed me off the stage either. And I remembered it all the next morning.

The Line Camp Reunion, featuring Lawyers, Guns & Money, and Gary Eckard, begins at 7 p.m. (doors open at 5:30) Friday, July 10, at the Catamount Bar & Grille, 125 E. Water St. 988-7222. Tickets are $5.

For more reliable Line Camp memories, check out Emily Drabanski's story in Sunday's New Mexican. CLICK HERE

* Voodoo Rhythm Comes to Santa Fe. You’ve heard me play his music on the radio. You’ve seen me rant about him in this column and on my blog. And now, straight out of Switzerland, the right Rev. Beat-Man is coming to town.

The first dealings I ever had with Beat Zeller, aka Rev. Beat-Man, was when I caught him in a lie. It was back in 2004.

On a visit to Cheapo Discs in Austin, Texas, I picked up a curious little CD called Gentleman of Rock ’n’ Roll (The Q Recordings, New Mexico ’58-’64) by a greasy-haired rockabilly named Jerry J. Nixon. It was on a Swiss label called Voodoo Rhythm.

I was intrigued. And even more intriguing was the story inside — how Nixon, born in England, illegally came to the States as a bank robber on the run, ended up in Santa Fe, where he worked at a cardboard factory, joined the Communist Party, and rocked local nightspots like the Atahualpa Bar & BBQ.

Like the journalist nerd I am, I spent a couple of hours at the library looking though old city directories and phone books searching in vain for Jerry J. Nixon landmarks like the Atahualpa, Q Recording Studio (it was supposed to be on Galisteo Street), and, of course, the cardboard factory.

I e-mailed Voodoo Rhythm for help. At first Beat-Man claimed his information came from interviews with Nixon’s family. But then, right in the middle of an e-mail, he confessed that he was Jerry J. Nixon (and now that I’ve seen photos of Zeller and heard his music, the resemblance is obvious).

I felt like an idiot, and he probably was amazed that anyone would take the Jerry J. Nixon story seriously.

I’ve been a Beat-Man/Voodoo Rhythm fan ever since.

Actually Jerry J. Nixon is just one of the Rev.’s many guises. He has also performed and recorded as the masked (lucha libre style!) Lightning Beat-Man and with bands including The Monsters (crazed Swiss garage-punk rock), Die Zorros (sounds like Joe Meek in the afterlife), and The Church of Herpes (electro/industrial Kraut-rock and a little gospel).

His latest project is called Surreal Folk Blues Gospel, a pretty apt description of the psycho-roots music that has resulted in two CDs and a DVD collection of videos.

Next week, Rev. Beat-Man comes to the land of Jerry J. Nixon, performing with his Blues Trash Trio at 9 p.m. Monday, July 13, at Corazón, 401 S. Guadalupe St., 983-4559. Admission is $5.

The show is presented by The Process, the same magical folks who have brought Michael Hurley, Carla Bozulich, and other musical innovators to Santa Fe. A new Sean Healen outfit called Goth Brüks opens the show. The group reportedly plans to play “a once in a lifetime set of songs you may not ever see him do again.”

This should be fun.

NO DEPRESSION ARCHIVES & ME

Here's a big blast from the not-too-distant past.

From 1997 to 2004 I frequently freelanced for No Depression, a magazine that specialized in alternative country, (whatever that was), and other American roots music. The magazine stopped publishing last year -- a victim of the troubled economies of the music and publishing industries -- though it lives on the Internet.

During my years as a ND contributor (which started waning as the demands of being a political reporter in New Mexico increased -- I'd just like to thank the governor), I wrote features on various musicians, including a lengthy profile on Terry Allen and an interview with Cornell Hurd. Among those I spotlighted were several New Mexico musicians including Kell Robertson, Mose McCormack, Bill & Bonnie Hearne and The Bubbadinos.

I reviewed some concerts, including Junior Brown's reunion with The Last Mile Ramblers at the Fiesta de Los Cerrillos in 1998 and the Red Nations Celebration and Native Roots & Rhythm shows in 1997.

I wrote obituaries for Dave Van Ronk (who I credit/blame for my career in journalism) and Howie Epstein who died in Santa Fe in 2003. In that piece I quoted my old friend Alex Magocsi, who would die a few years later.

I reviewed lots of CDs -- The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks, Loudon Wainwright III, Judee Sill, Angry Johnny & The Killbillies, The Riptones, Dr. West's Medicine Show & Junk Band and Petty Booka -- among them.

Earlier this week, the good folks at No Depression launched the magazine's complete archives. You can read all the articles, reviews. columns, etc from issue #1 through #75.

And yes, that includes everything I wrote for them. (I haven't checked yet, but it looks like it's all there, even that weird hitchhiking memory that I originally wrote as a post on the old AOL No Depression music board.)

And you can even find Grant Alden's review of my CD, which was published in issue #8.