Posted in podcast - April 14th, 2009 at 10:58 am by Cricket
It’s podcasting time again!! This time poet and musician Matt Urmy sat down with us for a very pleasant afternoon. We had so much fun, in fact, that we talked for 3 hours. To save your sanity, I’ve distilled the conversation and the music down to just under and hour. For you listening pleasure, you can get the ‘cast at iTunes, or simply download it here (right click and ’save file as’).
Matt is wonderful, but if you want the true experience of what it was like in the HCT living room that day, I suggest you listen to it after only 5 or so hours of sleep, when you are hungover and have started drinking at lunch time. I won’t admit whether those were the exact conditions of the day, but recreating those conditions might actually make us sound less obnoxious (or at least you’ll understand us better).
Posted in podcast - January 22nd, 2009 at 10:40 pm by Daisy
First podcast of the New Year! Are you as excited as we are? You should be! This time around we have the boys from The Fox Hunt from West Virginia. Well, we don’t have them right this moment, but we had them for awhile when they came through town to play a show with our friends The Magpies. Alas, much to our dismay, we had to release them back into the wild. But before we did, we got a podcast chock-full of fantastic old-timey music out of them.
The Fox Hunt is made up of John Miller, Ben Townsend and Matts Klein and Metz (and if the name sounds familiar, it may be because Cory and Ben were talking about them the last time they were here). They have one album out, available on CD Baby with a few more slated for release throughout the year, including America’s Working So We Don’t Have To, which is coming to you on Feb 17. Watch this space in the future for a review when it arrives.
Posted in podcast - October 1st, 2007 at 7:56 pm by Cricket
Once again it’s podcasting time! This go ’round Tommy Womack came to spend part of his afternoon talking to us and singing for us. He’s been in bands you might have heard of, Government Cheese and the bis-quits. He plays amazing solo shows, recently bringing spoken word into his sets to great effect. He’s written a couple books, The Cheese Chronicles and The Lavender Boys and Elsie (which isn’t yet available, so after you listen to this call your favorite publisher and beg them to make this book available to you, though you can read parts of it here, on Tommy’s site).
His new album, There I Said It! is available now and full of songs he might describe as being full of middle-aged anxiety, politics and not a little joy. They are surprisingly universally applicable, given the subject matter.
Posted in podcast - August 13th, 2007 at 9:35 pm by Cricket
I know you hear an awful lot around these parts about Lucero and Cory Branan, but I swear, they don’t pay us for this. Hell, they’d have to be an awful lot more famous before they could even afford our bar tab. No, we talk endlessly about them because they are made of one hundred percent natural, homegrown awesomeness. What’s more awesome that going to see their shows? Having them come to HCT HQ to record a podcast.
That’s right, my babies, Ben Nichols of Lucero and Cory Branan, together, not only for one of their Brew City Tours, but right here in our living room mocking each other, us and everything else in the world. What we have here in the end is a podcast (to download, right click and ’save as’) that goes from soft and subdued to a little raucous. You’ll want to tune in for the songs and the stories. You’ll enjoy the second listening to suss out the funny bits happening in the background. Besides the banter, we have:
Posted in podcast - June 17th, 2007 at 9:23 pm by Cricket
Hola, mis amigos!! Long time no talk. We’ve moved! We’ve been to some shows we should be telling you about. We’ve got so much new music to pimp to you that we’re practically drowning in it! We will overcome our current sullenness (from lack of beer on hot Tennessee day, chigger bites and too much other work) and bring you all that. But first there’s a podcast (right click and ’save as’ to download).
We sat down here in the new HCT HQ with Moriah Harris and talked about Nashville, Old Time music, bluegrass, women in music and our usual nonsense. She plays some of her own songs for us with her guitar and some toe-tapping fiddle tunes. Tracks in the ‘cast include:
1. Before We Come Undone
2. Ghost Town
3. California Wildflower (fiddle tune)
4. Bluebell Waltz (fiddle tune)
5. Whiskey Before Breakfast (fiddle tune)
6. Five Cent Piece (fiddle tune)
7. The Devil’s Game
8. Hell
Is Mercury in Retrograde? Yeah, I could Google it, but really I don’t even want to know. In any case, technical difficulties abound. After much hoopla our podcasts are back up on iTunes. If you had subscribed to them there previously, you’ll need to go do that all over again (which you can conveniently do by clicking this handy link). If you were subscribed some other way, you’ll need to redirect to the new RSS feed URL (add this URL to your podcast software: http://hardcore-troubadours.jellycast.com/podcast/feed/18). If that’s all too technical for you, you can still get all of them right here.
Thankfully, with all technical difficulty insanity I’ve had lately, I’ve had this to amuse me:
Oh, Cory! You look so earnest and sincere. We all know the truth though, but we still love you. Really though, how young and nervous does he look?
Posted in podcast - February 17th, 2007 at 6:43 pm by Cricket
We sat down on a cold, rainy afternoon to record a podcast (right click and “save as” to download) with Wes Charlton to talk about his new album, absinthe, music and canoeing. He sang us a few songs, we made him a few drinks. All in all a regular day’s work here at HCT HQ. This is the first podcast we’ve had real technical difficulties with. Sadly I couldn’t be bothered to check to make sure we had batteries that worked and neither of us was smart enough to remember that AC power was an option so we got cut off a couple times. But we managed to save all Wes’ gorgeous songs and funny stories and that’s what’s really important here, eh? Who cares if the editing makes us all sound slightly insane. We’d sound slightly insane anyway, right? Tracks here, among the conversation, include:
It’s podcasting time, people! Let me tell you, this one was a major hassle to edit. Our interviewee was so great that I was half tempted to give you the full 3.5 hours we recorded. But some things shouldn’t be made public, so I’ve edited it down for your listening pleasure and to protect the innocent. [Uh, you do realize the implication here isn't G-rated?--Mimi]
Last week we headed out to see Stephen Simmons play at the Basement here in Nashville. It was great night despite the freezing cold and driving rain. [We live in Nashville, it was chilly and the rain was hard, but hardly driving. It wasn't a No'easter.--Mimi] He played an excellent set backed up by a bunch of amazing Nashville musicians (Eric Fritsch on keys/guitar, Dave Coleman on guitar, Duane “Chop” Blevins on bass, Tim Blankenship on drums, and Jodi Haynes on background vocals). Stephen’s stage presence was unbelievable and not just because we were wooed by his little sardonic smile (the last line in my show notes is “his smile is criminal” and, kids, I hadn’t even had that much to drink). The band members were each individually excellent and taken all together it was a hell of a good time to watch them all play. If you get a chance, if he’s ever anywhere near you, head out and see that show, my friend, you won’t be disappointed.
Posted in podcast - October 8th, 2006 at 3:10 pm by Cricket
Yes, the HCT girls have been absent for a while. I’d like to say it was something cool like we got on the bus with some band after a show and woke up stranded in East Texas, or perhaps we’ve been vacationing at Dolly Parton’s house. No, just the plague bringing us down. You can’t record a podcast or even type very well when you’re coughing all the time. Fortunately we’re both on the mend and ready to bring you a ton of awesome stuff, starting with podcast number five.
I know every time we do one of these I say hanging out with whomever we’re recording is the best time you can have and I mean it but this time I REALLY mean it. This time was more like going to a party than recording a show. So The ACs came over to record with us (are they called that because they’re so damn cool? I forgot to ask). The ACs are Beau Stapleton on guitar, tenor guitar and mandola, David Long on mandolin and mandola and Matt Combs on fiddle, banjo and guitar.
Posted in podcast - September 12th, 2006 at 3:08 pm by Cricket
Hi, kids, it’s podcastin’ time again. While doing our usual random, whatever-let’s-just-go-here trips around Nashville, sometimes we accidentally go see some really exceptional musicians. Sometimes they agree to do podcasts for us. In that vein we present songs and conversation with Tom House (he’s also on MySpace). A very social podcast (right click and ’save as’) in which we talk about politics, Southern Literature, the Nashville music scene in the 70s, poetry, books and record labels. There’s a lack of ice tinkling in the background here, but we make up for it by popping open beer cans. Tom plays sort of traditional bluegrassy folk. He has an incredible old-timey sound and some very thoughtful well written lyrics. I think we could have spent several more hours just hanging out and talking to him. Tracks in this ‘cast include (all Tom’s original songs, unless otherwise noted):
Posted in podcast - August 28th, 2006 at 7:40 pm by Cricket
I know we promised Hank3 next, but we lied. I’m sure you’ll like this so much you won’t even care about our lying ways.
We’re continuing a two ‘cast trend of pretty boys from Memphis with Chris Milam!! He came by and played for us (right click and ’save as’) and as we do, we’re sharing it with you. His G-string broke in the third song, but that didn’t stop him.
Chris wonders why he came to our house and if he’ll get out alive.
Along with our usual blather, this ‘cast includes the following tracks (all Chris Milam originals, unless otherwise noted (most are g-string free):
Someday (Steve Earle cover)
Mimi and Cricket are my Favorite Girls (a.k.a Don’t Give Up on Me Now)
Whenever It Rains
She Changes with the Breeze
Maria, Maria
Chelsea Hotel (Leonard Cohen cover)
Waiting for a Call (Cory Branan cover)
Talkin’ Divinity Blues
Memphis Queen
A Song I Used to Know
Alright kids, our bags are packed with whiskey and sunscreen and we’re getting geared up for Mucklewain tomorrow. It’s not too late for you to come too. If you do go, look for us, we’ll surely be front and center for Scott Miller & The Commonwealth, Steve Earle, Todd Snider, Cory Branan and Lucero and bopping around dipping into everything else. If you are going and you want to catch up with us at the festival tomorrow, just email us tonight. We’ll be there with Cookie, Lulu, Sarita, Esse, Troublesome Girl and other HCT regulars.
We’ll be back in Nashvegas Sunday and back to our regular antics next week. Though if you don’t hear from us again you’ll know it’s because we died of sunstroke, sunburn, bug bites or alcohol-induced dehydration.
Posted in podcast - August 11th, 2006 at 3:14 pm by Mimi
You know that friend you have who’s always laughing at something inside his head, who goofs on your porcelain hippo collection with more affection than venom, who holds your hair back when you puke but then tells everyone all about it the next day?
His name is Cory Branan, you’ve been waiting your whole life to meet him. He smiles as he sings and turns his face into his shirt when he’s embarrassed by the cheesy-ass lyrics he wrote while drunk.
I’m sort of a loss for describing how charming and intelligent he is for two reasons: one, it sounds like hyperbole because of his transcendent wonderment, and two, I’m scared for his safety if a bunch of wackjobs ganged up on him to haul him off to be their loveslave.
Posted in podcast - August 9th, 2006 at 12:56 pm by Cricket
Alright, folks, we’re on the air. The first HCT podcast is up (right click and ’save as’), one of many to come. Maybe sometime I’ll be able to record it with out sounding like I might pass out from anxiety. [After a couple of vicodin, you'll be fine.--Mimi]
First up we have 8 songs played by Joshua Scott Jones. Go on, give it a listen, then come back and tell us what you think.
Tracks include:
1. Independence Day
2. Lover, You Should Have Come Over (Jeff Buckley cover)
3. Light It Up
4. Clang
5. Seventh Street
6. Dear Isabelle
7. You’re a Star
8. Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen by way of Jeff Buckley cover)
Josh is playing the Basement in Nashville Monday, August 14 at 6pm, so if you’re in town or nearby you should come and hear him play. We’ll be there, so bring cash to buy us beers too.
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