Neil Young and Crazy Horse to release Americana on June 5th

Neil Young and Crazy Horse are set to release their new album,  Americana, on June 5th.  It's the band's first album together since 2003’s Greendale, and their first album with the full Crazy Horse line-up of Billy Talbot, Ralph Molina and Frank "Poncho" Sampedro since Broken Arrow was released in 1996.

The songs on Americana are all classic American folk songs:

"Oh Susannah"

"Clementine"

"Tom Dooley"

"Gallows Pole"

"Get A Job"

"Travel On"

"High Flyin’ Bird"

"She’ll Be Comin ’Round The Mountain"

"This Land Is Your Land"

"Wayfarin’ Stranger"

"God Save The Queen"

BUY THIS NOW: The Shins' 'Port of Morrow'

A little late on my review of the new release from The Shins, but the indie icons are back with the excellent Port Of Morrow (available now) which feels akin to a welcomed visit from a well-loved, dear old friend.

The talented James Mercer remains the only original member of The Shins, taking on all songwriting duties and masterfully leading the new incarnation of his rotating cast of band members.

The sound on the new record is leaps and bounds above the low-fi sounds the world was first introduced through Zach Braff and his 2004 film Garden State. Where Oh, Inverted World felt very much like the work of one dedicated and talented songwriter with a few instrumentalist friends, Port Of Morrow is truly a solid band effort.

Upon first listen, Port Of Morrow sounded to me almost too simple and pop-oriented, which stands in contrast from the experimentalism of Chutes Too Narrow  or their Grammy-nominated Wincing The Night Away.

I must say that Mercer's lyrics remain poetic and indecipherable enough to make even Michael Stipe proud.  Mercer sings "When I was just nine years old, I swear that I dreamt your face on a football field and a kiss that I kept" on the album’s lead single, Simple Song.  And while maybe not as experimental as fans are accustomed to on past efforts, the music on Port of Morrow remains lush, well-produced, and polished to perfection thanks to the new band: Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse), Richard Swift, Yuuki Matthews (Crystal Skulls), and Jessica Dobson (Beck's guitarist.)

Port Of Morrow has been a long time coming for fans of The Shins, four years since their last release, which is almost an eternity in today’s music business, but the album was well worth the wait and is solid from start to finish.  The Shins make a case for thoughtful and uplifting music in the age of ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ blogosphere fickleness, and that's something to be proud of.

Port Of Morrow demands repeated listens, but tracks that sounded like filler on the first and second listens are now among my favorites. These are songs to fall in love with, to grow up with, and to share with friends in need of a life-change. The Shins are back like an old, nearly forgotten friend and that’s a good thing.

-Will Fisher, The Showbiz Kids

The Showbiz Kids Rating 9.5 out of possible 10

SCRUFFY CITY ROOTS

THURSDAY MARCH 22 @ 7PM

                                                    Hosted by Scott Miller and on-site interviews by Jack Neely.
Come join us at The Square Room for the inagural event of Knoxville's live radio and television show! Scruffy City Roots will feature Jill Andrews, Erick Baker, Cruz Contreras, and Robinbella with Rayland Baxter and Delta Rae.

                                                   Don't miss out on the first ever Scruffy City Roots this Thursday night!
PURCHASE                              TICKETS HERE



Choir! Choir! Choir! sings Big Star's "Thirteen"

Choir! Choir! Choir!  is a musical project in Toronto that pulls everyday people in to sing popular and not so popular songs. Don't turn your back on us because it sounds like Glee...the group is singing Big Star's "Thirteen" from their 1972 album #1 Record.  Big Star has been a big focus at this year's SXSW festival in Austin.  So take a listen to this version of a beautifully simple song.

Here's the Big Star version

To learn more about Big Star go to Big Star Story, Big Star blog or wikipedia Big Star.

Mike Smith, The Showbiz Kids

Foo Fighters and Bob Mould

Wasting Light by the Foo Fighters was one of our most favorite albums of 2011. A track from the album called "Dear Rosemary" had been written with the intentions of Bob Mould singing and playing on the track. Dave Grohl has professed a love for Husker Du and Bob Mould and below you can see them singing it live on Conan.

There is much rich history to Bob Mould but I wanted to recognize this moment in 1992 when he  concocted the band Sugar and wrote one of the best albums you may not know called Copper Blue. During that time you couldn't have pried this album out of my cold dead hands. 

I was able to see him play it live at The Masquerade in Atlanta and he ripped thru the album never saying a word and left his blue stratocaster ringing out  the final chord on stage until he came back to retrieve it and start the encore.  Those were some fun days in Atlanta.

Listen to Copper Blue

Mike Smith, The Showbiz Kids

Members of R.E.M. and Big Star join Blitzen Trapper onstage at SXSW

Blitzen Trapper finished an epic string of 11 performances at SXSW in memorable fashion Saturday night, performing a cover of Big Star's "Feel" with members of Big Star and R.E.M. on the second anniversary of singer-guitarist Alex Chilton's death.


"We're going to do my personal favorite Big Star song," Blitzen Trapper singer Eric Earley told the crowd, as Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Ken Stringfellow joined the band on stage at Stubb's for a spirited version of the tune. Earley sang lead vocals and played electric guitar, with Buck on acoustic guitar and Stringfellow playing bass and singing backing vocals with Mills.


Although Earley looked a little incredulous to see Mills and Stringfellow harmonizing together on one side of him and Buck strumming away on the other, it was drummer Brian Adrian Koch who would voice the feeling when the song was over.


"I can't believe that really just happened," Koch said.


"Feel" came in the middle of a rollicking set from the Portland, Oregon band, which mixed songs from last year's American Goldwing LP with with earlier tunes, including breakthrough single "Furr" and a rugged cover of Led Zeppelin's "Good Times, Bad Times," to close the show.


Afterward, Earley told Rolling Stone that Big Star embodies what he loves about Seventies rock & roll.


"That early Big Star stuff is quintessential American 1970s, mustache-wearing, muscle-car-driving music, even if they weren't coming at it that way," he said.


The guest spot from Buck, Mills and Stringfellow came after Earley sat in with them on the same song during a Big Star tribute the night before. Also on hand was drummer Jody Stephens, the lone surviving member of the seminal power-pop band's original lineup. Chilton died of a heart attack in 2010, just days before Big Star was scheduled to perform that year at SXSW. Original bassist Andy Hummel died a few months later after a lengthy battle with cancer. Guitarist Chris Bell was killed in a car accident in 1978. In recent years, Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of the Posies rounded out the Big Star lineup.


Stringfellow told Rolling Stone that he invited Earley to contribute to the Big Star tribute after hearing that the singer was a fan.


"It's like the ultimate secret handshake that's not a secret," he said, marveling at how Big Star's influence continues to filter down to subsequent generations of musicians.


That wasn't the only influence at work on stage Saturday: Earley has a fondness for R.E.M., too.


"They were my favorite band in high school," he said.


By Eric R. Danton, Rolling Stone

The Showbiz Kids Look at ONE

Well, it’s official-one year ago today, we launched The Showbiz Kids blog online with little more than a few ideas and a passion for music.  What has been overwhelming for us is the response we have received from our readers; nearly 26,000 total page views over the past 365 days!  (Not too shabby for a couple of married guys, who are trying to raise children and are merely working stiffs that enjoy blogging about music for a hobby.)

I must say a very humbled and heartfelt “THANK YOU” to everyone who reads our posts and musings on a regular basis.  Life sometimes gets in the way of all that we would like to write about and we really do feel guilty for re-posting articles that can be found on sites such as: Rolling Stone, Relix, or Jambands.com.  So, while we are thanking people, many thanks to the various writers out there who are the true professionals.

The Showbiz Kids has certainly provided each of us with an outlet to be creative and write about the various music that we love so much.  The best part about it is that we have been blessed to get to know and interview some wonderful people here in Knoxville that keep the music scene alive and well in this wonderful city.  

We promise to keep the site going as long as we have people out there who are interested in reading what we have to say.  For that, we celebrate our first anniversary and appreciate all of your support over the past year!

On that note, please keep us informed of anything you would like us to write about as we are always open to your comments and suggestions.

Again, we thank you, our readers, for making The Showbiz Kids a success and we are excited about what the future holds for us in the days ahead.

-Will Fisher, Mike Smith, and Shawn Daniel, The Showbiz Kids