I Can Lick Any SOB... calm down, calm down!

It's a band-name - one of the great ones. I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch In The House. They're from Portland, which of course gives them a headstart in my book (what is it in the water in that place?), and I thought they were long gone. But, no, the mighty Suburban Home Records announced recently that then would be releasing brand new SOB in 2010.

I first happened upon them in 2004 when the CDBaby site was burning a hole in my pocket. I couldn't hit 'Buy' fast enough after previewing their (then) only two releases: Creepy Little Noises and Put Here To Bleed. If you ever hankered for a heavier Truckers, if you think every band should have a (dedicated) harmonica player, if you wished the 'red' in (so-called) redneck music meant politically 'red'... look here:

I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch In The House: F*** Fred Phelps And The) Westboro Baptist Church:


(You may have heard of Westboro Baptist Church - featured on UK television too: they are some of the sickest people I've ever come across and this song channels the anger every right-thinking person must feel when confronted by such bigotry).

And this may be an easier target, but Mike Damron was writing this back in 2002, when the majority of Americans (so we're led to believe) supported troops in Iraq... i.e. before the body-bags started coming home...

I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch In The House: American F***machine (sorry, not all SOB songs have the F word in the title!)


There was a third SOB album: Menace in 2004 (belter too) and then in 2006, after five years they decided that maybe after all *they* were licked and the band folded. It's better to burn out than fade away, but sometimes it's worth rekindling the flame (damn, that was almost poetic!) and earlier this year word started to get out that SOB were back - and on Suburban Home Records: perfect.

As Suburban Home has been a catalyst in recent UK/European tours by the likes of Drag The River, Ninja Gun and Two Cow Garage, it may not be too much to hope for that SOB make it over here too. I'll be down the front: face melted, fist pumping...
to this...



You can pick up the earlier SOB albums at CD Baby and pre-order the new one from Suburban Home now. If you've never bought Sub Home before, you should also know that they like to throw in the odd treat... buy the CD (instant download) and you get a free beer coozie (and my Two Cow Garage coozie has never let me down yet :-D). Disappointingly, there's no vinyl pre-order yet... anyone else liking the vinyl w. download option becoming the trend lately? After all, if I'm sitting down to listen to physical media I'm usually at the turntable (to my ears, by comparison, CD might as well be good-quality MP3 by comparison). C'mon Virgil: if you're going to release the vinyl anyway (coming soon, apparently) give those of us willing to wait for wax a chance to hear the record now... pretty please :-)

Last one: Mike D and boys take aim at people who may not make such a good job of being a musician, y'know once it goes to their head...

I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch In The House: The Ballad Of Courtney Taylor:


http://www.icanlickanysob.com/
Oh lord...

Gilded Palace Radio Show Playlist - 9th July 2010

New releases from Bon Iver (covering John Prine!), The Books, Chatham County Line, Fred Eaglesmith, the death-defying Peter Case and our very own Salter Cane – as well as an EXCLUSIVE airing for the brand new Dolorean album.
http://www.totallyradio.com/show_pages/shows.php?show=66

Bon Iver - Bruised Orange (Chain Of Sorrow) - Oh Boy!
Zoe Muth - You Only Believe Me When I'm Lying - self-released
Peter Case - Dig What You're Putting Down - Yep Roc
Hillbilly Voodoo - Hats Off To Pleasant Valley Coal - Stonehouse Records
Old Man Luedecke - Foreign Tongue - Black Hen Music
David Olney - Train Wreck - Continental Song City
Tony McLoughlin - Treelines - tonymcloughlin.com
Malcolm Holcombe - Evelyn - Echo Mountain
Salter Cane - The Truth Is Nothing - www.saltercane.com
Point Quiet - Long May You Hide - Continental
Hayward Williams - Cotton Bell - Continental
Southern Tenant Folk Union - Working Never Stays The Same - Johnny Rock
Michael Weston King - I Didn't Raise My Boy To Be A Soldier - Valve
Otis Gibbs - Outdated Frustrated And Blue - Wanamaker Recording Co.
Califone - Mean Seed - Thrill Jockey
The Books - Free Translator - Temporary Residence
Jenny Whiteley - Truth And The Eyes Of The Road - Continental/Black Hen
Larkin Poe - Burglary - Edvins
Fred Eaglesmith - I Would - Lonesome Day
Chatham County Line - Wildwood - Yep Roc
Dolorean - The Unfazed - Fargo (UK/EU)/Partisan(USA)
TMGS - John - tmgs.be
JBM - July On The Sound - Partisan
Sally Spring - Summer's End - Sniffinpup
Sara Watkins - The Late John Garfield Blues - Oh Boy!

The Gilded Palace Radio Show - listen anytime at Totally Radio

Time to get excited - more than usual...

I'm aware that a lot of music gets hyped to the heavens, not all of it deserving such high praise; I'm honestly bewildered about how frequently people are telling me about this-or-that 'incredible new album' (they don't come along any more frequently than they used to, do they...?) but here's my two-pennorth for a record that already has my juices flowing, even though it won't be out until September.

Al James' Dolorean have been among the Gilded Palace Hall-of-Famers since we heard Violence in The Snowy Fields in 2004. They broke the mould with the stunning You Can't Win in 2008, a sumptuous feast of an album - which all but disappeared without a trace, signalling the end of his tenure with Yep Roc. (James' own comments on the album are an insightful accompaniment)

At last (and after a break during which You Can't Win became something of a word-of-mouth winner) Dolorean ready their next release. The Unfazed is more than a title, it's an affirmation: we can win.

Two new tracks 'The Unfazed' and Hard Working Dogs' feature in this streaming player, alongside choice back-catalogue numbers - download 'The Unfazed' from the new Dolorean website and look out for the album and tour in the autumn.

The Gilded Palace of Sin is dead: long live the Gilded Palace of Sin!

So, it seemed silly to be paying for a website we weren't using; with no shows to promote and neither the skills nor the time to turn that site to some other use (an archive of shows/posters etc would be nice... one day). Thus we pitch up here - at a (free) blog long neglected, but clearly the perfect home for a retired promotion still pumping out great radio shows (ahem).

If you're here looking for a gig, you've missed the boat. If you're here to listen to some great music, come on in! The Gilded Palace radio show is available 24/7, and updated fortnightly on Friday evening. Click the image below...

The Gilded Palace of Sin: The Last Waltz

Some of you may already have read our Myspace page or our website and read that we are calling it a day from promoting. Some of you have already been in touch to say nice things about the shows you’ve seen. Thank you for that: it really is appreciated. However, after very nearly nine years of Gilded Palace revelry, it’s time for us to bid farewell. Apologies if you were hoping to see Drag The River, Fruit Bats or Lightning Dust: those shows are now cancelled. We have one last belter in the bag for you – and it would be great if you could join us for what promises to be a party for more than one reason…

CARRIE ELKIN & DANNY SCHMIDT
Thursday 26th November (Thanksgiving Day!), 8:00pm
Prince Albert, Trafalgar St, Brighton
A co-promotion with ARK PR (Thanks, Del!)
(Pumpkin pie and ‘welcome’ Thanksgiving drinks on us! Get ‘em while they last!)

Tickets £6.50 advance (£8 on door) available from Rounder, Resident and online at http://www.wegottickets.com/event/61420

Appropriately (ironically?) enough, on Thanksgiving Day, this will be the last Gilded Palace of Sin show. After nine years of promoting the best in Americana and alt.country shows we’ve chosen the biggest holiday in the American calendar to call it a day. We're very happy that - before we leave - we get a chance to host CARRIE ELKIN.

Carrie first came to my attention in March 2008, via a CD package from Medicine Music (based way up in Inverness, but omnipresent in cool Americana circles). Hers was a new name on me, but I noted the mention of Devon Sproule in the press release. Carrie (and Danny) are both friends of Devon (and Paul Curreri), having spent time on the Charlottesville scene where the Sproule-Curreris are based. Nine months after first hearing the album, Jeopardy made #3 on the Festive Fifteen 2008 (the full list, if you’re interested, is here: http://www.thegildedpalaceofsin.com/pages/festive08.html)

Why so besotted? Obadiah, Questions About Angels, Black Lung, Roots And Wings… the list of great songs on this record goes on and on. After almost two years, Jeopardy of Circumstance album is (honestly) shaping up to be one of my favourite records of all time. And while we're at bold claims...

... there are many reviews comparing DANNY SCHMIDT to people like TOWNES VAN ZANDT and LEONARD COHEN. Normally, such claims can be taken with a pinch of salt (especially as I’m not particularly a fan of Laughing Lenny) but Danny’s an engaging lyricist and guitarist – less inclined to wallow (oh, I can hear the Cohen fans sharpening their knives already!). I have yet to see Danny play ‘live’, but everyone I know who has done so raves about his enigmatic performances. His Parable and Primes album was a favourite of some years back and new release, Instead The Forest Rose To Sing, is something special too.

There are a bunch of tunes for you to download at both Carrie and Danny’s websites - and you can, of course, pick up full albums at the show. For once I shall let the music do the talking…

Link to Carrie’s songs: http://www.carrieelkin.com/Music.html
Link to Danny’s songs: http://www.dannyschmidt.com/media.html

NOTE: Carrie will open the show with a ‘solo’ set, joined at times by Danny. He will then perform his own set, and will likewise be joined by Carrie. Expect live music to start around 8.30pm. Gilded Palace classics on the Jukebox of Misery before, betwixt and after the stage antics.

I approach this show with mixed – not to say, conflicting - emotions. After a difficult past few months (attendances down and band fees increasing) I’ll be relieved of the financial burden of risk inherent in promoting shows that ever-fewer people are able/willing to attend. This has never been about making money. I often describe it as a hobby that got out hand: a train-set that took over the house. No, money made on shows that did well has supported the greater number of still legendary, but loss-making nights. I shudder to think how much we’ve lost over the years, but I’m confident we leave a legacy of looking after bands (I know this to be true all the more since I started touring with bands!) and paying them well (ditto!) even when the money wasn’t always in the pot at the end of the night. We couldn’t have done this without some fantastic agents representing these artists – Bob Paterson Agency, Belmont Bookings and Toutpartout Agency should take an especially large bow. Yes, we’ve been lucky to have avoided most of the nest-feathering charlatans peopling the music industry so, after six years of involvement in (and nine years attending) The Gilded Palace of Sin, I’ll be sad to see it go.

There have been many, many happy memories and it has literally been a life-changing experience. Let me blow our trumpet: we’ve had to over the years, since we’re not cool enough for The Source (I got that from the horses mouth) and Latest 7 doesn’t seem to know on what day our shows take place – when they could be arsed to list them.

Those of you newer to this list won’t care much but we’ve had some high times over the years. The halcyon days when the Hanbury was our second home, brain-searing and sweaty nights at the Prince Albert, rare but special forays to the enormous (to us!) Concorde 2… all had their genesis in low-budget, founding shows at the Sanctuary Cella. We can be proud of our achievements…

In 2001, Tom Sheriff (Dave) and My Good Self (Charlie) simply set out to bring bands they liked to Brighton: they could hardly have anticipated that this would result in the likes of GILLIAN WELCH & DAVID RAWLINGS, MY MORNING JACKET and DINOSAUR JR coming to town under our wing, less still that we would meet and befriend artists of the stature of RICHMOND FONTAINE, THE SADIES and WILLARD GRANT CONSPIRACY.

We’ve had UK debut shows from CHATHAM COUNTY LINE, DOLOREAN, JESSE SYKES, GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS, JUSTIN RUTLEDGE, CHARLEMAGNE, JAMES ‘SLIM’ HAND and more. We even got to indulge ourselves hosting our long-standing heroes like STEVE WYNN, JASON RINGENBERG, ALAN TYLER, MARK MULCAHY, MARK EITZEL - and the first UK show in 10 years from AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB. There are lots more (almost 300!) bands I could mention here but I’ll stick to the headline grabbers.

And without the mercurial Mat Benzies (and his predecessor, Jer Reid) at the controls for 90 percent of our shows, they wouldn’t have sounded nearly as good as they did. Gold dust, the pair of ‘em. Lastly, I know I speak for all three of us (Dave, Charlie and myself) when I say I’m eternally grateful to the hardcore amongst you who have kept the faith with us – you know who you are; it’s no exaggeration to call you friends, not just casual acquaintances.

Incidentally, I know it’s almost 300, as I’ve commissioned local screen-print artist, The Pinch, to design a poster commemorating all the bands who’ve played for us – and I had to make a list. To be more exact, it’s 296 bands and 197 shows. A limited number of these posters will be for sale on Thursday.

It will be an emotional night – and I’m definitely not bringing the car into town this time ;-) It would be nice to see as many of you there as possible – for the performances of course, but also to help us go out with a bang. Do they ‘do’ fireworks for Thanksgiving? We’ll have pie at least!

The Eagle(smith) has landed

OK, so only a few short months since the last blog: we're in danger of making this a regular thing. In fact, think I might do so as I'm finding our web service lacking in so many ways (want to post/embed videos, songs etc) and generally hook up with the w.w.world at large. It's a bugger to do in HTML, and anyway who has the time...

... not me, not when there's legends like Fred Eaglesmith to prepare a welcome for.

FRED EAGLESMITH (band show) plus KERRI POWERS
Thursday 22nd October, 8:00pm
Prince Albert, Trafalgar St, Brighton

Tickets £8 advance (£10 on door) available from Rounder, Resident, Punker Bunker and online at http://www.wegottickets.com/event/60397

Fred Eaglesmith makes people do funny things. I’ve met (apparently sane) people who’ve spent a whole week travelling on a specially-chartered train with him, attending Fred shows every night wherever the train happened to stop. Tiring of riding the rails. he’s about to take 100 or so “Fred-heads” (yes, they’re really called Fred-heads!) on an ice-breaker cruise ship on The Fred Eaglesmith Atlantic Adventure. It’ll sell out of course: the man inspires devotion amongst his fans.

Fred grew up in a farming family, and still runs his own farm. He runs his own record label too. After a brush with major labels, he decided to go it alone, but cheekily named his A Major Label. He’s pretty much a household name in his native Canada: when Oxfam launched their Make Trade Fair campaign a few years back you could see Fred’s face alongside the more internationally-recognised Bonos, Michael Stipes and Thom Yorkes (maybe Fred gave Thom some tips on releasing your own records!).

Songs? Fred’s got ‘em in spades – as well as 17 albums of his own, he’s had tunes covered by (deep breath) MARY GAUTHIER. TOBY KEITH, COWBOY JUNKIES, KASEY CHAMBERS, RALPH STANLEY II, TODD SNIDER and DAR WILLIAMS. Songs about the real important things in life – that and trucks, trains, cars and motorbikes. And now religion: for with most recent album, Tinderbox, Fred’s turning his attention to questions of faith. And what an album: it sounds like a meeting of TOM WAITS and WOODY GUTHRIE (imagine DUST BOWL BALLADS meets MULE VARIATIONS) and it is utterly fantastic. With songs titled You Can’t Trust Em (‘They keep taking Jesus down off the cross”) and Fancy God, as well as numerous characters having their faith tested to (and beyond) the limits, you can imagine he’s not writing eulogies – it’s more ‘opiate of the masses’ in theme and is tremendously compelling stuff. Can’t wait to see it rendered ‘live’ with a full band – Fred’s first such show for us, incidentally.

Stories? To be honest, Fred could hold a crowd rapt if he’d left his guitar back in the dressing room. He’s a genuinely unique presence on stage with a hatful of - by turns - hilarious and insightful stories and a brilliantly witty, skewed take on the world (as well as the room he finds himself in – at our last show, one memorable monologue resulted from his frustrated attempts to take the top off a bottle of water left for him onstage. Yes, I and many other people would pay money to watch Fred open a bottle of water. Now that’s devotion. (Don't believe me? Watch the Texas Towel clip below: funny as f***!).

The Texas Towel intro to 18 Wheels:


Don’t just take my word for it… here’s some press for Tinderbox:

“a magnificent opus… a superb blend of organic gospel, blues and country with maverick-spirited experimentation and reinvention” - Rave
“Eaglesmith at his gritty, straightforward best. As an exploration of why people often turn to religion during difficult times and how that religion often fails in those circumstances, Tinderbox is an album of nearly limitless depth”- Slant
“Tinderbox is very much a document of this moment in time, a journal of spiritual crisis yet renewed humanity… [It’s] Eaglesmith at his most down-to-earth magical” - Houston Press
“Ever heard an album where your jaw drops on first listen, then keeps sounding even better with every spin? Tinderbox is one such record. It’s his most adventurous and accomplished work yet, and how many artists now on their 17th record can you say that about? It’s hard to imagine a better roots-based record coming out this year” - Exclaim!
“One of his most important CDs to date. Tinderbox, from start to finish, from the lyrical quality to the production, is just plain ingenious” - Lone Star Music

Support for the evening comes from KERRI POWERS, who’s just released Faith In The Shadows, which puts me in mind of nothing less than JESSE SYKES breaking into LUCINDA WILLIAMS’ studio and stealing away with her band. Smoky vocals, big tremulous guitar sweeps: very good indeed. Kerri will be performing solo this evening – and on stage around 8.30pm. As ever, don’t be late.




Couple of links for those of you craving more...

http://www.fredeaglesmith.com/

Site dedicated to Fred's performances in Holland (lots of great live stuff here!):
http://www.49tons.nl/
Fred Eaglesmith Forum:
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/portputley/
Kerri Powers: http://www.myspace.com/kerripowers

July Shows: Willy Vlautin Exclusive, Jason Ringenberg and - for the nippers - Farmer Jason is back!

Cock-a-hoop to have the ONLY Willy Vlautin solo show in the UK this year! You can expect to hear a few rare renditions of the Fontaine catalogue, and - we hope - some of the new songs from We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River, an album which should not only cement the band's reputation as masters of the maudlin, but also win new fans with perhaps the strongest set of songs/stories/characters and music the band has yet to record.

WILLY VLAUTIN (RICHMOND FONTAINE) - Exclusive SOLO show!
SATURDAY 18th JULY: Doors 8:00pm
THE BASEMENT, KENSINGTON ST., BRIGHTON
A co-promotion with ARK PR

Tickets £9 advance from Rounder, Resident, Punker Bunker and online at https://www.wegottickets.com/event/52103
(Willy’s performance will finish in time for people to catch the last train to London)

(Note: The Basement may be a 'new' venue for many of you. It is located in the North Laines area of Brighton - and is only a short walk from Brighton train station. Kensington Street is the continuation of Sydney Street, and runs parallel to Kensington Gardens (that's the pedestrianised street with Resident Records on it). You’ll find the venue about half way down - opposite that awesome graffiti of James Brown)

http://www.richmondfontaine.com
http://www.willyvlautin.com
http://www.myspace.com/richmondfontaine

Here's the dude singing...



... and reading. Clever so-and-so!



Needless to say, can't wait!

And the weekend continues on a high, with two Sunday shows. Parents, you'll thank us for wearing your kids out so much they won't be complaining it's bed time - they'll already be asleep. Apologies, though, if they can't get up for school on Monday...

I haven't actually checked but I think this may be the first show we've done with an Emmy Award winner!

FARMER JASON (kids' show)
SUNDAY 19th JULY - Doors: 3pm until 5pm
ST, JOSEPH’S HALL, MILTON ROAD (in Hanover, at the bottom of Elm Grove) BN2 9TQ

Tickets £4 from Rounder, Resident, Punker Bunker and online at https://www.wegottickets.com/event/52128 (NB: It's possible that the online quota will sell out in advance: if you can't get to the shops, there will be more tickets available on the door)

A vid of the kind of fun we can expect...
Farmer Jason - Forest Rhymes


..and, kids, you can rest easy...


We wrap up what should be a fantastic weekend with a show from one of the people responsible for us being here - Jason Ringenberg, cow-punk legend and leader of Jason & The Scorchers!

JASON RINGENBERG plus support
SUNDAY 19th JULY: Doors 8:00pm
THE PRINCE ALBERT, TRAFALGAR ST.

Tickets £7 advance from Rounder, Resident, Punker Bunker and online at https://www.wegottickets.com/event/51980

Leader of Jason & The Scorchers, Jason Ringenberg has a celebrated solo career spanning the past ten years or so. If he were only the same barn-storming cowpunk that leads that band, it would be enough to commend his solo show to you, but he is so much more. His songwriting encompasses everything including the injustices of American history, railing against its current figureheads, the fight against mountain-top removal (look it up), and - of course - Honky Tonk Maniacs from Mars. He can be heavy, but he isn’t po-faced. Heck, he’s even been known to regale the ‘grown-up’ audience with a song or two from the Farmer Jason catalogue. See, I told you the Tractor song was fun!

http://www.jasonringenberg.com/