News

In anticipation of the new Firewater album International Orange (Sept release) and the first US tour since 2008, we're re-releasing 4 classic Firewater titles.

On June 19th, you can complete, re-invigorate or get up to speed with your Firewater collection so's you can singalong when they bust out the hits.  These albums have been sadly out of print for several years due to the vicissitudes and vagaries of the music biz.  We'll be offering them up at a very nice price.  Pick up one, or pick up four:

Psychopharmacology

Get off The Cross

The Man on the Burning Tightrope

Songs We Should Have Written

Check out THIS long form interview in Guitar World Magazine with our own Maggie Bjorklund.  She talks at length about her gear, her songwriting process, how and why a DANISH person came to play the AMERICAN pedal steel, and her recent stint with Jack White.

There's also an embedded video of a song from her release Coming Home.

In the winter of 2012 Scott H. Biram and Lydia Loveless took to the tour trail together for a couple weeks and it made such a dynamic double bill that they’re gonna do it again this June.

The aptly titled Bad Machine Tour follows the release of outstanding new albums in Biram’s Bad Ingredients and Loveless’ Indestructible Machine


The Bad Machine Summer Tour begins in Tulsa, OK on Friday, June 1 and circles around the Midwest and East Coast before looping back for three shows in Biram’s home state of Texas, ending in Austin, TX on Saturday, June 30. Full tour dates HERE

In celebration of the tour announcement, Scott and Lydia are offering up FREE MP3s from their respective albums. Both are linked below, feel free to download/share/repost the tracks.

*Lydia Loveless “Learn To Say No” (from Indestructible Machine) – DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

*Scott H. Biram “I Want My Mojo Back” (from Bad Ingredients) – DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

Or both together via Soundcloud

STAY TUNED FOR ANOTHER SURPRISE RELEASE in conjunction with this tour.

Cory Branan is gearing up to release his Bloodshot debut, Mutt, on May 22 (pre-order now!)—to whet your appetite, you can listen the new single "Bad Man" via out pals at PASTE. Also just announced: Cory's headlining US and European tour:

May
18 - Montreal, Quebac @ Underworld
19 - Champlain, Ontario @ Beau’s All Natural Brewing
23 - Wiesbaden, Germany @ SCHLACHTHOF
24 - Cologne, Germany @ Underground
28 - Dresden, Saxony @ Ostpol
29 - Munich, Germany @ 59:1
30 - Zurich, Switzerland @ Eldorado
31 - Bezirk-Landstrasse, Austria @ Arena Wien

June
2 - Freilburg, Germany @ Walfisch
4 - Southampton, England @ Joiners
5 - Bristol, England @ The Croft
6 - Brighton, England @ The Prince Albert
7 - Manchester, England @ Tiger Lounger
8 - Glasgow, Scotland @ The Bay
10 - London, England @ Windmill Brixton
15 - Nashville, Tenn. @ The Basement
16 - Atlanta, Ga. @ The Earl
17 - Durham, N.C. @ Casbah-Durham
19 - Baltimore, Md. @ Golden West
20 - Cambridge, Mass. @ TT The Bear’s
21 - Philadelphia, Penn. @ Milkboy
22 - New York City, N.Y. @ Mercury Lounge
23 - Pittsburgh, Penn. @ Club Café
24 - Toledo, Ohio @ Frankies
26 - Chicago, Ill. @ Schuba’s
27 - Omaha, Neb. @ The Sydney
28 - Fort Collins, Colo. @ Surfside 7
29 - Denver, Colo. @ Lions Lair

July

1 - Boise, Idaho @ The Shredder
2 - Seattle, Wash. @ Tractor Tavern
3 - Portland, Ore. @ Doug Fir Lounge
5 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Thee Parkside
7 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Mint
8 - Fullerton, Calif. @ Slidebar
10 - San Diego, Calif. @Casbah
11 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ The Rhythm Room
12 - Roswell, N.M. @ Pecos Flavors Winery
14 - Austin, Texas @ The Mohawk (inside stage)
15 - Houston, Texas @ Rudyard’s
18 - Fayetteville, Ark. @ George’s Majestic Lounge
19 - Little Rock, Ark. @ White Water Tavern
20 - Memphis, Tenn. @ Hi-Tone Café

The weekly Chicago Reader feature, Artist on Artist--wherein two artists interview each other, features Paul Burch & the Waco Brothers' Jon Langford.  Their new album hits the shelves today.

Read their freewheeling conversation about Nashville, discovering country, and how playing with the Wacos is like riding a jet engine.  The whole rambling affair is HERE

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The Chicago Tribune calls Great Chicago Fire "Wickedly smart!" And "If the Rolling Stones were still making great records, this would be it."

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AOL Spinner has the new album streaming in its entirety—listen to it now!

It's cold and dreary in Chicago today—but nothing cured our blues like this video of JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound and their muppet friend, Jameson (who also cameos in the JCBUS video for "Sister Ray Charles"), covering Otis Redding's "Dock of the Bay":

Justin Townes Earle is currently wowing audiences while touring Down Under, but that isn't stopping him from entertaining us in the US while half a world away—JTE was recently named NPR's Song of the Day for "Look The Other Way," off his new album, Nothing's Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now. Earlier last week, Justin's recently recorded World Cafe Live performance was broadcast via NPR stations across the country—if you missed it, the archive is available online.

Big news from the boys of JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound—they've been plucked to play this year's Lollapalooza at Grant Park! They'll represent Chicago on the Saturday of the festival. Three day passes are sold-out, but you can buy single-day passes (for Saturday, natch).

Meanwhile, over at GooglePlay, the Magnifier blog premiered the new video for "Sister Ray Charles,'' off the still pretty-new JCBUS album, Want More. Check it out now! (Spoiler Alert: there are hookers and muppets in the vid. Hookers AND muppets, folks).

And if that doesn't satisfy your JCBUS fix, the folks at Epitonic have just posted a live session that the band did back in March at the great, local record shop, saki. Listen now!

Lydia stopped by the offices of Paste Magazine and did a grand little acoustic set that Paste has posted on their mPlayer. She does three songs off Indestructible Machine and a cover of Ke$ha’s “Blind!"

Check it out here.

The results are in!

For it's release week, Justin Townes Earle's newest album Nothing's Gonna Change... was the #1 Vinyl release and #2 CD release at AIMS Coalition independent retailers.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen!

Support indie stores!

And remember, JTE will be releasing a limited edition 7" for Record Store Day