Country Doppelgangers 5

This one's weird admittedly, but one of those doppelganger matching programs found this likeness. Justin Moore and Claire Danes. The facial structure is definitely very similar.

Sonny James and the happy little trees guy, Bob Ross.

"Hold That Thought" crooner Chuck Wicks and that guy from Third Eye Blind. My wife disagrees but I've always seen it.

Lee Brice and Jeremy Piven of Entourage.

Craig Morgan and Howdy Doody.

My trip to Little Rock

I'm still too tired from the weekend's festivities to do much of a wrap-up or review, but I had a great time at Little Rock, Arkansas' Riverfest. I made a little fun of the state to my northwest along the way, but the city of Little Rock is a really nice place, clean and aesthetically pleasing. The festival was also set up and run very well. I'd recommend it to anyone.

I was only able to attend Saturday's performances but wow. Lucero more than held their own alongside the legendary Black Crowes who followed. This little band that could sounded fantastic and had the crowd under their spell for the hour to hour and a half set. The Black Crowes were just awesome. I'm so glad I finally got to see them, especially since there's word that they plan to take a long hiatus after their next tour.

A band with a quite Google search unfriendly moniker, The See, was the first band we saw. I'd never heard of them, but I'd like to hear a lot more from them. They were somewhere in the realm of Replacements, older Kings of Leon... uh, I dunno... just punky alternative bar rock or something, but they would have made a great opener for Lucero. Instead, that honor went to aspiring country singer, Kid Rock lite Uncle Kracker (pictured below).

While I was prepared to unleash all sorts of hatred upon his performance, it was actually fairly entertaining. No, he can't sing that well. Yes, he's Kid Rock lite. Yes, half his hits are cover song. But he was better than I expected. His segue into country music is at its apex, as he opened with a Hank Jr. cover, did his Kenny duet (sans Chesney of course) and mixed in Kenny Rogers and the inescapable "All Summer Long" by his buddy Kid R.

Lucero (pictured below) was next and blew us all away. The band rocked through old favorites like "Tonight Ain't Gonna Be Good" while mixing in plenty of tracks from their latest record. They had a horn section that was a great addition after some sound difficulties got worked out. It was really cool to hear some of their older songs with the new horn flourishes. Lucero finished their set with a killer take on their "All Sewn Up," with Luther Dickinson of the Crowes and the North Mississippi Allstars coming on to lend some help with guitars. Ben threw in a little advertisement for his parents' local (Nichols is a Little Rock native) furniture store, much to the crowd's amusement.

The Black Crowes closed out our night, playing what was obviously their "festival setlist" of all their major hits with a few non-hit favorites and one song from their latest album "Before the Frost..." They played long versions of "Been a Long Time," "Wiser Time," "Thorn in My Pride" (the highlight of my night) and others, showing off the musical chops of one of the most underrated bands of the last 20 years. While there was almost no stage banter from lead singer Chris Robinson, he nonetheless connected and interacted with the crowd with his movement, gestures and soulful singing. He was magnetic.

All in all, Riverfest was a great experience and except for a little Waffle House excursion, I had a fun and safe time. I got to hang out with local (local to me, not Little Rock) sports talk host, lightning rod Kevin Broughton and his lady-friend for most of the evening and they were very cool to watch the show with.

An aside, I saw this 18 wheeler as we were headed back to Memphis this morning. Yes, Kix was driving. Poor guy.

Best of 2010 So Far: May

Top Albums so far

Trampled by Turtles - Palomino

Band of Horses - Infinite Arms

Austin Collins - Wrong Control

Joe Pug - Messenger

Kasey Anderson - Nowhere Nights

Drive-by Truckers - The Big To-Do

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings - I Learned the Hard Way

Dirty Sweet - American Spiritual

Great American Taxi - Reckless Habits

The Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis

Hellbound Glory - Old Highs and New Lows

Rodney Hayden - Tavern of Poets

Phosphorescent - Here's to Taking It Easy

Johnny Cash - American VI: Ain't No Grave

Blitzen Trapper - Destroyer of the Void

The Black Keys - Brothers

Surfer Blood - Astro Coast

Tim Barry - 28th & Stonewall

The Hold Steady - Heaven is Whenever

The National - High Violet

Reckless Kelly - Somewhere in Time

The Brothers Comatose - Songs from the Stoop

Nightjar - Hometown Stranger

The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang

Shinyribs - Well After Awhile

Widespread Panic - Dirty Side Down

Hank III - Rebel Within

Titus Andronicus - The Monitor

Retribution Gospel Choir - 2

Alan Jackson - Freight Train

Ray Wylie Hubbard - A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint: There Is No C)

Gary Allan - Get Off On the Pain

High on Fire - Snakes for the Divine

Butch Walker and the Black Widows - I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart

Walt Wilkins & the Mystiqueros - Agave

Nas & Damian Marley - Distant Relatives

Whispering Pines - Family Tree

Guthrie Kennard - Matchbox

Murder By Death - Good Morning, Magpie

D.B. Rielly - Love Potions and Snake Oil

Top Live Albums so far

Drew Kennedy - Alone, But Not Lonely

Jason Boland and the Stragglers - High in the Rockies

Zac Brown Band - Pass the Jar

FWC&G: Biggie

Alt-Country Day 4: Parody Album Covers

Justin Moore Parody

Suburbs

(A parody of Justin Moore's "Backwoods")

Tom-tom in a Tahoe, the interstate's sure slow

iPhone charging up, no latte left in my cup

Traffic alert frown, headin' to my job in town

Wish I could turn around and head back out to the

Chorus:

Suburbs, yeah I'm white collar

Out in the suburbs, covenant so don't bother me in the

Suburbs yeah I'm livin' uptight

Work hard, blog hard, drinkin' Sam Adams Light

Got a Blu-ray player and a real good life

In the suburbs, yes sir

Teacher called again, son needs Ritalin

But he's got soccer today, can't see the doctor, nah

36 and in deep debt how stuck can you get

It don't bother me when I play Wii in HD back in the

Chorus:

Suburbs, yeah I'm white collar

Out in the suburbs, gated so you can't follow me out to the

Suburbs yeah I'm livin' just right

Check my fantasy baseball every night

Got a Viking gas grill and a cute blonde wife

In the suburbs, yes sir

Chorus:

Out in the suburbs bein' a father

Out in the suburbs, pinchin' hard on my dollars in the

Suburbs where living is so sweet

Green yard, golf cart, labradoodle on a leash

Where the only "urban" we know is Keith

In the suburbs, where the taxes are low

Out in the suburbs

Songs Illustrated #19

Top 10 Thoughts Bucky Covington Has Had Today

10. I can't believe I met the real Barney Fife today! Awesome!

09. It feels like there's a silverfish in my hair... yeah, there's definitely a silverfish in my hair.

08. I wonder if Sawyer Brown was named after that guy on Lost... wait, that wouldn't make sense .....he's white

07. Boy, Kellie Pickler's intelligence intimidates me

06. I still say me and Autotune got screwed out of the ACM nomination for vocal event of the year for our duet on "Gotta Be Somebody"

05. So what happens if you're in the back of a truck and there's nobody around to open the tailgate?

04. Aw snap! I'm the one millionth visitor to this site! I won an iPad!!!

03. My fans are so awesome. It was cool when that hairy dude got me to sign his boob last night... or was that a woman?

02. Take a step, take a breath, take a step, take a breath, chew gum... uh, ...crap!

01. Aw snap! I'm on a roll! I won another iPad!!!

Hurley & Cambria

Only that rare combination of Lost/Coheed & Cambria fan will get this... okay, maybe not even them.

Lost-centric original lyric

Admittedly these are sappy enough to be the lyrics of a Jimmy Wayne song, but in honor (or to the detriment) of the final Lost tonight, here's a lyric I wrote a few years ago based on this scene. Yes, I'm a dork. Read my other post today if you want actual (?) humor - this is only unintentional humor. A Bucky Covington Top 10 tomorrow... and Alt-Country Day 4 later in the week! Ta ta, I'm off to geek out!

Go Back There

Old habits die hard, I guess

Why'd you call me? is all she said

Over the roar of jets above their old meetin' place

She told him that he looked like hell

If she'd missed him, he couldn't tell

Who knew how she felt, all the makeup on her face

He'd been chasing the lowest highs

Every weekend takin' flights

Everything he could try, praying to be lost again

Maybe where they'd come back from

Was no damn good for either one

But here now in the long run, he longed for where they'd been

(He said)

I wanna go back there

We weren't supposed to leave

I'm tired of lying

Living is dying

I wanna go back there

Want you to go back there with me

She said He'll wonder where I am

He said this wasn't in the plans

Stood there a trembling man, cryin' I'll find a way

Then before she turned to leave

He could read the uncertainty

There in her eyes, as she said "This ain't gonna change"

(He said)

We have to go back there

We weren't supposed to leave

I'm tired of lying

Living is dying

I wanna go back there

Want you to go back there with me

Bridge

Her taillights lit his eyes

But he knew this goodbye

Wasn't for good

She understood

We have to go back there

We weren't supposed to leave

I'm tired of lying

Living is dying

I wanna go back there

Want you to go back there with me

©2007 Corey Parkman

In the Year 2030 #5

•Lady Antebellum decries new artists' disconnect from pop-country's roots

•Judge declares clusterf*ck in trial to decide which of 734 family members is entitled to royalties and future earnings from Wu-Tang Clan

•Johnny Cash, 2Pac, Elvis, Garth Brooks all put out albums of previously unreleased material

•Indie music is now mainstream and vice-versa, causing hipsters to embrace music with understandable lyrics, song structure and good vocals; Pitchfork folds

•Chuck Wicks named Brentwood Applebees' June Employee of the Month

•Pop singer Liddy C's cover of The Spice Girls' "Wannabe" proclaimed a staggering masterpiece of pop perfection after she performs it in the nude on VMAs

•Rap-rock makes stunning comeback; "Godfather of Rap Rock" Fred Durst starts Douchefest annual tour

•Lil Wayne given key to city of New Orleans; makes a bong out of it

•Mysterious and hilarious gossip blogger Rita Ballou finally revealed to have been Natalie Maines during Whiskey sour and bon-bon benders

•All concerts now in 3D

•Gary LeVox found dead in a Houston Adam's Mark of apparent chicken cordon bleu overdose

YouTube Gems: Trampled by Turtles

From my favorite discovery of the year so far, Trampled by Turtles, here's the official video for "Wait So Long" from their awesome new album Palomino (which I may review one of these days).

YouTube Gems: June Carter & Hank

FWC&G: Possum

The remix I'm talking about is much like this one, except with even more dated sound clips, from such timely movies as The Nutty Professor (yep, farts from the Klumps) and Forrest Gump. Yeehaw!

Yet another Strait pun album title

Still based on this.

Top 10 things You Should Expect to See at a John Mayer Concert

List stolen from written by @MusicSnob75 Thanks!!!!!!

10. A whole bus of 13 yr olds who will scream whenever there's a break, "I Love you, John" and not know he's already heard it 10,000 times.

9. Lesbians.

8. The 40 year old cougars who think @johncmayer "Your Body Is A Wonderland" could be their lucky night.

7. The guy who brought his first date standing w/2 beers in his hand but doesn't remember what she looks like.

6. The kids so hip on music today they're wearing the latest @beatles fashions.

5. The two guys who are here because they want you to believe they are ONLY here because @johncmayer plays a mean guitar.

4. The customary fat/skinny girl combo

3. The parents who bring their 13 year old son to show how "cool" & "hip" they are. Him dying at the thought of being seen.

2. The cougar mom and her cubs.

1. The women unsure of their sexuality. Strong enough for a man but made for a woman.

John Rich's Songwriting Tips #36

Puns are stupid. Unless you're 8... or a country music fan. Since the latter idiots pay for the Captain Morgan in my elevator, I keep a few joke books around to toss in some dumbass wordplay every now and then. If it makes big Bertha in Birmingham giggle through her tooth while her dirty youngsters watch Fartknocker and Ferb on the minivan's LCD, who the hell am I to tell her she's a moron? Yeah, your ex-husband was always off drinkin' and fishin' because he's a largemouth ass, chuckle chuckle fatty! Keep hitting the "$1.29 BUY" button on the iTunes and I won't judge your low humor standards... uh, again.

*Not actually written by John Rich.

Singer/Songwriter Parody Album Covers

Country Doppelgangers IV

Bucky Covington and Johnny Van Zant, if not doppelgangers, could at least be son and father

First name: Jaron, Last Name: and the Long Road to Love & Peter Brady (Christopher Knight) (thanks Rita!)

Kristian Bush, devious Sugarland sideman and Russell Hantz, devious Survivor contestant

Terri Clark and Xena: Warrior Princess

Yep.

R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio

RIP to a true music legend, Ronnie James Dio, formerly of Black Sabbath and his own band as well as several others. He had one of the best voices in rock and seemed to be (in the interviews and live footage I saw of him) a genuinely good guy.

Nineteen Somepin' (Mark Wills parody)

Here's a parody of an older hit, Mark Wills' "19 Somethin'" from a true redneck's point of view.

Nineteen Somepin’

Saw Smokey’n the Bandit ‘bout eight times
Had the words to ‘Convoy’ memorized
And I've seen the stuff they put inside...
Cheech and Chong (yeah)
I was Archie Manning in my backyard
Had a beercase full of wrasslin’ cards
And a couple of Buford Pusser scars
On my right arm.

I was a kid when Nixon lied
And my momma cried...

It was nineteen seventy somepin'
In the world that I growed up in
Richard Petty hairdo days
Molly Hatchet on eight track tapes
Lookin' back now get’s me pukin’
Oh man, did I act stupid
But I wouldn't trade them days for nothin'
Yeehaw, it was nineteen seventy-somepin'.

It was the dawning of the 80’s now
We got our first trailer house
Mama broke down and
Finally shaved them old sideburns off
I got me a Jam box Stereo
Watched them Friday Night Videos
My first love was Missy Jo
On that Hee Haw show.

In 83’ Slim Pickens died
I welled up and cried...

It was nineteen eighty-somepin'
In the world that I growed up in
Cold Schlitz and jacked up trucks
Mullet heads fightin’ with brass knucks
And lookin' back now gets me queezy
Oh man, did I look sleazy
But I wouldn't trade them days for nothin'
Oh it was nineteen eighty-somepin'.

Now I'm in prison till 2013
My 6 kids are missin’ me
And I wish...
Sometimes...

It was nineteen eighty-somepin'
In the world that I growed up in
Motley Crue and gettin’ laid
Acid washed jeans at the arcade
And lookin' back now gets me pukin’
Oh man, did I act stupid
But I wouldn't trade them days for nothin'
Whoo, it was nineteen eighty-somepin'

YouTube Gems: The Black Crowes

From their album Amorica, this is The Black Crowes with "Descending," my favorite song from the rootsy rock band whom I'm hoping to go see at the end of this month.

Top 10 Suggested Wedding Presents for Blake Shelton & Miranda Lambert

10. Stomach pump

09. Matching his and hers bulletproof vests

08. Their own taxi with a full-time driver

07. George and Tammy discography

06. Hogs (not Harleys - actual hogs to kill, smoke and eat)

05. A couple of these t-shirts

04. In-deerstand kegerator

03. Camo pattern dishes

02. Gift certificate to local wine and spirits merchant

01. Gift certificate to Betty Ford Clinic

Country Day May 2 of 2

Country Day May 1 of 2