Brent's Alt Country Blog

Free Alt Country Survival Guide from Brent & The Loners

The Alt Country Survival Guide is Ready! 

I wanted to do something nice for my mailing list for all of the support they gave us over the past year.  So, during the holidays I compiled an ebook--a guide of sorts--that would hopefully make it easier for them to be alt country music fans. 

This ebook is full of hundreds of links to alt country and Americana music artists, tv shows, websites, podcasts, blogs, record labels and anything else dealing with alt country music.

The Guide is free, and you can get your own copy by visiting the Alt Country Survival Guide page on my website.

Let's face it, mainstream country is everywhere, and you're never out of earshot of a country radio station or cable channel.  It requires a little more work, however, to keep up with the alt country and Americana music scene.

But with this guide, there's enough free resources of cool alt country links that should keep a steady stream of alt country tunes flowing your way all the time.  Along with all of the links, the book also includes a special section entitled, "How to Turn Your Computer into an Alt Country Tivo(R) That Delivers Alt Country Music, Programs, and Interview to Your Desktop 24/7," which is a step-by-step guide that shows you how download and subscribe to podcasts and RSS feeds.

Download your free copy of the Alt Country Survival Guide NOW!

U2's Johnny Cash Song -- The Wanderer

What was the song that U2 sang on the Johnny Cash special?

In a show filled with some pretty solid performances, U2 did a mesmerizing version of their song, The Wanderer.  If you're trying to track the song down, it shows up in a couple of places. 

First on the Faraway, So Close soundtrack.  (A great Wim Wenders film, although I liked the previous film in the series, Wings of Desire, a little better.)

The song is also the last song on Disc Two of The Essential Johnny Cash.

For those of you that missed the special, I'll try to have a review posted in the next day or so.

NEW! Kinky Friedman Reality TV Show on CMT!

Texas Gubernatorial Candidate, Mystery Writer, and Country Singer Kinky Friedman is Getting His Shot at Reality TV with a New Show on CMT!

This Wednesday November 9th at 1 am Eastern, Midnight Central, and 10 pm on the west coast, CMT will air two episodes of Go Kinky, a reality TV show that follows Kinky Friedman in his quest to become governor of Texas.

The series currently consists of two half-hour episodes which CMT will run back to back.  If they do well -- and how could they not, running at one in morning on a Wednesday night with absolutely no promotion from the network? -- CMT may bring the series back in early 2006 to coincide with the political primary season.

By the way, it looks like CMT's really behind this one.  A search for "Go Kinky" on their website returned no results.  So, if you want to find out more about the show, you'll have to go here.  Or, subscribe to the feed from this blog, and I'll keep you posted.

Then, stay up late or set your recorders to catch Kinky Friedman's new reality show, Go Kinky, on CMT this Wednesday, November 9th at 1 am eastern/ Midnight central.

I Walk the Line: A Night for Johnny Cash Tribute Special on CBS

On November 16th, two days before the movie release, a music special... I Walk the Line: A Night for Johnny Cash tribute show, will air on CBS.

I, personally, can't hear enough Johnny Cash music, yet I always cringe whenever non-country music folk plan a night like this.  I've got to say, though, with just a few exceptions CBS has put together a solid and eclectic line up to honor Cash. 

Performers include... Kid Rock, Cheryl Crow, Dwight Yoakam, Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Lee Lewis, U2, Coldplay, Nora Jones, Jessi Colter, Shooter Jennings, Brad Paisley, Martina McBride (fresh off her Timeless CD), Allison Krauss, Montgomery Gentry, and the star of the movie, Joaquin Phoenix even performs a song.

They taped the show last week in Hollywood, and at least one early report indicates that Jerry Lee Lewis stole the show.  Go figure!  For more on that story, check out this CNN article on the taping of the special.

I don't have a time yet, so check your local listings to find out when I Walk the Line: A Night for Johnny Cash will air in your area.

"The I Walk The Line" Movie Could Make November a Good Month for fans of Johnny Cash

With the I Walk The Line movie due to be released on November 18th and the "Night For Johnny Cash" TV special a couple of days before, November could turn out to be a pretty good month for Cash fans.

I've got to admit.  I'm still skeptical, but from what I'm hearing this movie about the Man in Black could turn out to be all right.  Or maybe I'm just getting caught up in the hype. 

I remember reading CASH: The Autobiography a few years ago, and thinking ok, this is going to be a movie someday, and I immediately started dreading that day. 

The problem is there's no actor that can accurately capture the charisma of Cash.  Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Joaquin Phoenix is a great guy and a great actor, and maybe he's THE actor who can MOST portray Cash's persona, but he won't capture all of it.  He can't.  No one can, and without that you don't have a story. 

I mean, you'll definitely get your three act structure of a country singer who comes up out of the depression, fights epic battles that would've tested even Homer's credulity, and somehow emerges at the end, maybe not unscathed, but at least unbeaten.  But Hollywood stories like that always turn out too believable, and simple, and neat on the screen. 

There might not have been a more complex man around than Cash.  He at least deserves as many movies as Lord of The Rings.  His battles were real. 

I hope this movie is good.  Even if it's not, with all the hype we'll at least hear Cash's music all over the place this month. 

Brent Hoodenpyle and A Loner Open for Danny Santos at the Woodstock Folk Festival Fall Benefit Concert

Brent Hoodenpyle and John Ballantyne will serve as the opening act for this year's Woodstock Folk Festival Fall Benefit Concert featuring Austin, Texas based singer-songwriter Danny Santos on Friday October 28th.

Santos is an accomplished singing and songwriting troubadour who draws his influences from the likes of Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, and John Prine.  He's played all around the country--around the world for that matter-- at spots such as the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Club Passim in Boston, the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Texas, and Mahogany Hall in Bern, Switzerland. 

As if that alone wouldn't be enough to get you dialing the ticket line, read what other musicians and critics have said about him...

Here's what fellow songwriter Slaid Cleaves had to say...

"Love songs.  Murder songs.  What more could you want?  Danny sings his evocative songs with a pure and natural tenor.  He's one of my unsung heroes of the Austin singer/songwriter scene."

And Santa Fe New Mexican music critic and rocker Steve Terrell...

"His true strength is his songwriting... his song 'Desperado' puts the Eagles' song to shame."

And Mario Tarradell from the Dallas Morning News...

"...his storytelling is straight out of the Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt school of songwriting."

You can find out a whole bunch more about Danny by visiting his website at http://www.dannysantosmusic.com.

And to kick things off in the evening, I'll be there with lone Loner John Ballantyne to perform a set of our country and folk originals with a cover or two mixed in.

You, of course, can find out more about us by clicking over to our website at http://www.brenthoodenpyle.com.  While you're there, sign up for the Alt Country Vault (it's FREE!), and you'll be able to download 10 or so songs from us and some of our friends (also FREE!), and I'll make sure you get the monthly newsletter.

The Woodstock Folk Festival Fall Benefit Concert takes place October 28th at 8:00 pm at the Stage Left Cafe, located on the square at 125 Van Buren St in Woodstock, IL.  Tickets are $10 for Adults and $7 for Seniors and Students. 

For reservations or more information, go to http://www.woodstockfolkmusic.com, or call (815)479-9933.

See you there!

Can't make it so the show?  Buy Danny's CD's here!

Kenny Chesney, Renee Zellweger, and Jack Sparks

With a New Look to His Alt Country Blog and a Re-Energized Attitude, Jack Sparks Cracks the Kenny Chesney - Renee Zellweger Fraud Case

I'm really disappointed in myself for not keeping the blog up better this month.  Mostly, though, I'm upset that I missed commenting on the Kenny Chesney - Renee Zellwegger Fraud case.

As soon as it broke, my phone was ringing with people calling to tell me about it and to ask if I'd heard anything from our buddy, Jack Sparks.

As usual, he was on the ball and didn't disappoint.  Check out his post here...

http://blogs.citypages.com/jsparks/2005/09/res_ipsa_loquit.asp

(The one before it entitle "Sigh II" might be my new favorite.  Read that one while you're there, too.)

In case you're new to this blog and this is the first time you've heard of Sparks and his Other Side of Country Blog, I've mentioned him in these posts before.  If you're a fan of traditional and/or alternative country and can't stand to hear what mainstream country is doing to our form of music, you'll enjoy what Sparks has to say.

Here's the link to the Hank Williams rejection letter I stole from Sparks...

http://altcountrybrent.typepad.com/brents_alt_country_blog/2004/10/hank_williams_r.html

Here's Sparks play-by-play commentary on the  38th Annual Country Music Association Awards...

http://altcountrybrent.typepad.com/brents_alt_country_blog/2004/11/an_alt_country_.html

And here's the uhhh, "slightly unstable" response it prompted from Kenny Chesney's producer...

http://altcountrybrent.typepad.com/brents_alt_country_blog/2004/11/the_kenny_chesn.html

Enjoy!

Cool Site and Yahoo Group for Traditional and Classic Country Fans!

Fans of Traditional and Classic Country Music Will Love This Site and Yahoo Group!

If you like the real kind of country music you should check out this site and Yahoo Group.  I stumbled across them yesterday while doing a search for information on Leon Payne, the great songwriter.

The site is called Talent on Display and has a ton of information on roots rock-n-roll, traditional and classic country, bluegrass, and rockabilly.

Here's the link...

http://www.talentondisplay.com/

There's also a Yahoo group associated with the site made up of music fans from all over the world.  You can plug into that at http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/TradCountryHoF/.

And when you get there, tell them Brent sent you.

Podcast Listening Guide: How to Download the Alt Country Opry Podcast

Podcast Listening Guide:  How To Listen to the Alt Country Opry -- Or Any Other Podcast -- On Your Home Computer!

I know that a podcast might be new to some of y'all, so I put together this little guide of what I think is the easiest way to download the Alt Country Opry, or any other podcast.

First, let's get straight on the terminology. 

Anytime you hear...

"podcast" think "radio show,"

for "feed" think "radio signal,"

and for "RSS reader" or "podcatcher" think "radio."

Got it?

Good.

So, to hear a podcast you're going to need a podcast catcher or RSS reader.  This is not something that you have to buy, but a free download that you can install on your computer. 

I'm not a real expert on these, but after looking around for the last couple of days the quickest and easiest one I've found is the ipodder.  This is a podcast catcher, which means that it's strictly designed to download audio files.

So, step one... download ipodder.  It's quick, free and you only have to donate if you want to.

After you've downloaded and installed it, click on the "Subscription" tab, then click on the green circle with the white plus sign.  It's the third button from the left at the top.  Or, simply press CTRL-N.

This will bring up the "Add a Feed" box.

Next, copy and paste the following link into the address box and click SAVE.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/AltCountryOpryPodcast

Then, press F6 or the brown "Catch Up" button at the top of the page to download and play the latest podcast.

See... it's easy!

A couple of quick notes...

--The feed above will work with ANY podcast catcher or RSS reader.

--You can download all of the songs that you hear in the podcast for FREE by going to the Alt Country Vault located on my site.  Just fill out the quick 30 second form and download away!

If you're already a member of my site... click here.

That's it.  Enjoy the podcasts everyone!

NEW! Monthly Alt Country Podcast -- The Alt Country Opry at brenthoodenpyle.com

Listen now to the premiere edition of the monthly alt country / Americana music podcast, the Alt Country Opry -- featuring the Gin Palace Jesters, at brenthoodenpyle.com!

We're proud to announce that the first episode of our new monthly alt country / Americana / roots music podcast is online and available for download! 

The artists we're featuring this month are our buddies the Gin Palace Jesters.  They're an old time honky tonk and traditional country band from Chicago who are fresh off a two week summer tour of Europe.  If you like solid songwriting and a classic country sound, then you're going to love these guys.  Check them out now!

And if you've been looking for a good alternative country podcast to listen to...

You're going to like what we've got going on!

You see, we've done two versions of the podcast.

The first version is in the form of a radio show that you can subscribe to (for free!) and automatically download it to your computer or iPod.  This one will serve as a good introduction to the artists that we're featuring that month, and will feature interviews, sound clips, and the occasional acoustic performance.

The second version is kind of the BONUS version.  If you like what you hear in the "radio show" and want to hear more, you can download this version which will contain the full length tracks of all the songs that you only hear clips of in the first one... PLUS bonus tracks, with no talking.  And, you get it all for free!

Click here and listen to the Alt Country Opry now!