Band I'm loving: Hellbound Glory

For a music lover, it's not often you find a band that you just love.

One that gets you excited about music again...one that you would drive 6 hours to see 2 nights in a row.

Well, after a few years of trolling the underground country scene and only really listening to Hank 3...because, you know, he's Hank 3, I decided to really get all up in there and I found Hellbound Glory.

You can Check them out on their facebook page (linked above.)

I don't need to tell you how awesome they are--just check out a few of my favorite songs from their latest album, Damaged Goods:

"Bastard Child"

  
I can't find a full song/video of one of my other favorites, "She Left Me in Modesto," but here's a sample of it. The whole song is a must-hear though. Great story, told the way a country song is supposed to tell a story. Oh, and a truck is an integral part of the plot...that's always good.

These songs are my kind of music.

When it comes to lyrics, especially in roots/country/awesome music, less is more. Simple is beautiful.

I really love the writing in this song, "Lost Cause:"

I'm especially in love with the line:
"Let's build this burning bridge/before we get too deep/
And let me dig my ditch/down this one way, dead end street"

I don't know a ton about these guys...but I have listened to Damaged Goods enough to have it memorized.

"But Carrie," you say, "this low-down, depressing outlaw stuff belies your sweet nature, cheerful disposition, and chirpy voice."


To which I say, "Suck it, jerkface!"

But really. This stuff wakes my soul up. It makes me want to cry...dance...shake my fist,,,and drive down the the road, singing at the top of my lungs. I can't explain it.

It's not a "yeah, that's good" situation. Like when I listen to Lady Gaga when Mike's not around sometimes.

Speaking of my handsome husband. I'm loving the song "Living With the Shades Pulled Down." Here's Merle Haggard's version.

And Hellbound's version:

The whole..."Livin' with the shades pulled down all day" idea pretty much describes our nocturnal schedule. Plus, I love the vibe of being outcasts...but who the eff cares? We're crazy in lurve!

 Yup, just like Mike and I.

To quote the classic film from my youth, "She's All That," though...

"Except for that whole hooker thing."

My point? If you love fun, bad ass, outlaw (REAL outlaw...not Brantley Gilbert outlaw. Good grief.) country music...RUN...don't walk...CLICK...don't leisurely scroll...over to somewhere and check out Hellbound Glory.

One more for the road:

"Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound"

Carrie-Okie

No, that’s not going to be my nickname if I ever move to the Sooner State.

I’m talking about Karaoke...that thing you absolutely love...or that thing that turns your Friday night bar trip into a living hell.

If you’re in the latter group, you might want to move along.

This is for those of you who enjoy karaoke-ing to the max. It’s a tribute, and some tips for making the most of the phenomenon that lets us all be rock stars. My only real qualification to dole out advice is my own love for singing and music...and the 9 or so months I spent DJ-ing karaoke in Springfield.

If you find a good venue to karaoke, it’s the best...a place where the audience is supportive, everyone claps and cheers...and the DJ’s know how to keep up a fast rotation of newbies and regulars is what I’d look for.

My friend Robert and I rocked the karaoke captain gig for awhile at what used to be the sushi bar next to what used to be Traffic on Walnut Street. We seriously had a magical little karaoke family that gathered every Friday night. 

We had a good bunch of MSU students, great singers, and fun characters. We would just get that whole place dancing. Every week we led a bar-wide sing along to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The word “epic” is grossly overused these days, but I think that would be the only way to describe that experience. I still get a little misty-eyed when I walk by that little bar.

Now that my karaoke cred has been established, I’ve got a few tips for those of you who enjoy rocking the mic:

Find a Good Place: I mentioned this above. I haven’t tried everywhere in town, so I hesitate to list some...maybe there’s a gem I haven’t discovered yet. But the key to having fun is to find a place with people who are there because they enjoy karaoke too. Cheap beer is also a plus.

Song Choice is Important: YOU may be super pumped that the song list includes a little known song by an obscure band you love. If it means a lot to you, by all means, SING IT. But don’t expect people to jump up and dance.

If love from the audience is important to you though, you’ll need to pick a popular tune. Feel out the room and figure out what’s getting a response. I did not know there was a U.S. Karaoke Alliance...but apparently there is, and they’ve got a list of the top 500 karaoke songs of all time.

Know Your Stuff: You don’t have to know all the words to the song you want to sing...that’s the point of the little screen! But you should at least know the flow, melody, and rhythm of the song. If you don’t, you’ll screw up and get embarrassed.

Many of us only know the first few lines or chorus of a song, but aren’t sure how the rest of it goes at all. I’ve seen this happen with the song, “Ice Ice Baby” so many times! Yeah, yeah...”STOP! Collaborate and listen...” However there’s about 3 minutes and 45 seconds of more rapping that few people know, and they end up standing up there and struggling through it.

Speaking of the Words on the Screen: If you’re so drunk, you can’t read them...just stay in your seat, please.

Do Unto Others: If you are there for the karaoke...and you want people to sing along with you and cheer you on...do the same for them!

And Finally, It Doesn’t Matter if you can Sing...Just Get Into It! I mean it! Yes, some chick with an amazing voice is going to go up there and sing “Black Velvet,” and it will make you jealous that you don’t have the pipes. But, hey, Know your Limits and pick something that doesn’t require Mariah Carey-like vocal prowess, and then don’t be shy. Get into it and belt it out! You’ll sound better if you’re less nervous, and you don’t know most of the people in the audience, so you’ve got nothing to lose! Pretend you’re singing in the car.

This is all coming from someone who adores music, and loves to sing. I, however, was not given the gift of a golden voice, but when I step up to the mic and sing “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” I’m a star for a few minutes.

Hope to hear you singin’ around town soon!

Okay...Fine!

I really like this song.

As with most phases we go through (do almost-30-year-olds still go through phases?) I think this one is over.

I have been acting like a country music elitist...but the TRL-watching high school sophomore in me still loves a good, catchy song. I can't help it. And everything I've heard from Taylor Swift's latest album makes me want to go on a windows-down road trip.

What got my 'tude all revved up about current country sucking:

generic laundry lists songs that mention tractors, Jack Daniels, cut-off jeans, and Johnny Cash.

blatant product placement.

and my former Aussie obsession, Keith Urban's last new CD's, which sound like watered down adult contemporary pop instead of the groovy country rock I know he's capable of.

to name a few.

But I think there ARE still some awesome country artists still making music and writing songs from their hearts and life experiences.

Regardless of genre, I think Taylor Swift is one of those artists.

And Brad Paisley...WOW! This guy is super talented. Original...funny and amusing while writing songs you can listen to over and over...and respectful of the classics while doing his own thing. I absolutely love his new song "Old Alabama"

Side Note: I had 4 tapes that I listened to when I was a young kid: Ricky Skaggs, Alabama, Hank Williams Jr. and Mel McDaniel. That, and watching CMT with my Grandma Schroeder and Uncle Gary made me the music lover I am today.

So I suppose this post is me coming clean. Good music is good music, and no matter what it is classified as, it can still be appreciated and respected.

I've been around more elitist hipsters than I care to mention and I DON'T want to be like that.

Now I guess all that's left to do is drive my old pickup down a dirt road, crank up the Hank, and pop open a cold beer.

If I could only find my cut-off jeans...

Heard it in a Love Song...

So happy to report progress on the wedding front.

We are writing our own ceremony, and after a few waaaaay to cheesy attempts, I think we've got a short ceremony that is different, fun, rock 'n roll and "us." Oh, and multimedia...and hopefully hilarious.

The only thing left to do for that is I want to come up with some great things for us to promise during the ring exchange. By great I mean funny, and maybe slightly inappropriate.

I am also working on our play list today, which we are doing ourselves with our own music. We are hiring a DJ to monitor, play and operate things. I am SO glad we can make our own play list. I feel bad because a lot of the music Mike likes wouldn't really work for a wedding situation...at all. (he's aware of this and not offended.)

Anyway, I used to work for a wedding DJ company and I know they basically use the same music for any wedding and I don't want that. At all. Ugh.

So I have pretty much perfected the pre-ceremony tracks...to set the mood. We know what will be playing during the ceremony; and my dinner play list...a.k.a "ambiance for an elegant meal" a.k.a. "let's watch while the bride tries not to spill spaghetti or wine on herself" needs some more songs, and I plan on raiding my mom's pretty solid music collection this week for those.

The main list, "Dance Play List" will be tricky, but I can do it:

I have to figure out how to flow...and flow back again between: outlaw/underground county, '80's hair rock, '90's hard rock and pop, classic rock, regular country, love songs...deep breath* Oh, and I an desperately trying to find a way to work in the Stephen Colbert/Jimmy Fallon/Taylor Hicks version of Rebecca Black's "Friday." I would love a flash mob choreographed dance.

It'll work. I just hope people have FUN. I hope people aren't "too cool" to dance and get crazy with us. That's what I want more than anything.

Okay, I'm done. Thanks for reading. Occasionally I feel the need to vomit out all of my ideas so my head doesn't explode...which is why a decoration post is probably coming soon.

Garland made out of Bud Light cans that happen to be my Wedding Royal Blue? Maaaaybe!

Nothin' But a Good Time...

If you are a musician, or a music lover, you have to appreciate a good performer, even if you're not a huge fan of that person's particular genre of music.

Bret Michaels gets a lot of crap for...a lot of things: the show Rock of Love, his fake hair, wearing eyeliner, sporting his own T-shirts, being in Poison...

The list goes on.

I dragged my heavy-metal-loving fiance to see Bret Michaels at the Shrine Mosque on Thursday. Awww...Mike really loves me. But I sat through GWAR when they opened for Lamb of God in November, so...we're still not even.

I knew I would have a good time. After an opening band that did a rock-n-roll version of "Sweet Caroline" (Yikes!) Mr. Rock of Love ran out on stage to the opening chords of "Talk Dirty to Me."

I can karaoke the buttah out of that song, by the way...

Bret (I don't think he'd mind if I called him Bret) put on a great, high energy show for the next hour and a half. For a guy that had been in the hospital and near death just a few months ago, he gave 110%.

I've been to a lot of concerts in my day, some I'd be embarrassed to admit to. It's always great to see an artist who truly enjoys what they're doing, and really appreciates the audience. You know, when they just have that thing that pulls you in. Makes you forget your feet hurt, that you're getting beer spilled on your shoes, or that the time and hairspray you put into your hair was for nothing because you're at an indoor concert with no air conditioning. In August.

Bret is that kind of performer, and he truly seemed sincerely happy to be playing for us.

Plus, the dude knows why he's famous to anyone under the age of 35. He mentioned "Rock of Love" and thanked VH1...he doesn't try to pretend the reality show involving stripping contests didn't happen. I think that's cool.

The concert was also FUN because Bret knows what people want to hear. He sang some Poison hits ("Fallen Angel," "Unskinny Bop"), a few of his solo songs ("Go That Far"), and did some covers ("Sweet Home Alabama," "Drift Away," "What I Got.")

The audience could sing along with basically everything...isn't that why we go to concerts? So, I'm pretty much going to tell everyone that I partied with Bret Michaels, because last night's concert felt like one big bash. A bash I paid $30 to attend.

I love my share of underground music, and generally tend to rebel against anything "popular." (Current popular country music? No, sir, I don't like it.)
But being a music snob can really keep a person from having a lot of good times. I like a lot of "cheesy" music from the decade I was born in because it's fun!

Even Mike enjoyed the concert. When someone is sincere and passionate about what they're doing and the music they play, it shows...and if you can't jump up and down, clap along with the beat, and sing along, then you're taking life too seriously!