American Routes

Words & Music

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:00:15 -0500

Do the words make the song or the notes? What does it take to tell a good tale in music or about music? We put those questions to a few writers of both songs and stories. Singer-songwriter and memoirist Rosanne Cash sits down before a live audience to tell us about her authorial journey, then we chat with novelist Cyril Vetter on translating a musician’s life into fiction. And New Orleans bluesman Little Freddie King spins a few tall tales from the juke joint.

Men of Steel and Soul

Wed, 08 May 2013 11:32:43 -0500

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We’re bringing the blues from the clubs to the church this week on American Routes. The Campbell Brothers, from Rochester, NY, are masters of sacred steel. With both pedal and lap steel guitars, they summon the spirit in voice and sound. We’ll talk about growing up in the church and playing gospel blues on the guitar. Then, New Orleans bluesman Walter “Wolfman” Washington stops by the American Routes studio for a conversation about his life in the music and in the clubs around town.

The Black Keys & The Soul Rebels

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:32:44 -0500

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We’re sitting down this week with two bands who make their hometowns proud. The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, from Akron, Ohio, have roots in the blues and rock but construct a sound all their own. We chat with them backstage at a performance in the Crescent City. Then New Orleans brass band innovators the Soul Rebels talk about bringing the sounds of the streets to clubs around the world.

motherjones: Lunch break: William Stout’s 100 Cartoon Portraits...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:47:00 -0500

motherjones:

Lunch break: William Stout’s 100 Cartoon Portraits of Legendary Blues Artists.

RIP George Jones, the “King of Broken Hearts.” He...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:16:26 -0500

RIP George Jones, the “King of Broken Hearts.” He shared a little of his life philosophy with us in 2006:

Yeah, you know, that’s the way life is. You have your good days, your bad days, your ups and downs, and we all have to tolerate it til the end of time.

Songs & Stories of the River

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:44:16 -0500

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As the muddy Mississippi winds its way past us in New Orleans, we’re reminded of the power and place of these waterways in American culture. First, we seek the source of the mighty river at the headwaters in Minnesota. Then listen to stories of steamboat captains, riverboats and rural fisherman. And learn about New Orleans own relation to the river with Tulane professor Richard Campanella. Plus river tales from Captain Doc Hawley, Aaron Neville and Al Green.

The late Richie Havens, on “Trouble in Mind,”...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:30:02 -0500

The late Richie Havens, on “Trouble in Mind,” recorded with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band:

You can really believe that people who hurt really do hurt. Things are not always as bright sounding but it is forgiving sounding if you can accept it.

We were fortunate enough to speak to Richie Havens in 2010 about his tenure as a Greenwich Village portraitist, and his legendary opening act at Woodstock.

Happening right now: Treme Brass Band at sound check for...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:45:13 -0500

Happening right now: Treme Brass Band at sound check for tonight’s show at Rock ‘N’ Bowl.

Get there at 8, and don’t be late!!

Looking for America: Elvis Costello and Carla Bley

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:01:52 -0500

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We’re seeking out the “American” in American music with two eclectic artists: Elvis Costello and Carla Bley. For British songman Elvis Costello, American music has shaped much of his musical creativity. We’ll hear about his love of American country and blues, his musical upbringing in Liverpool, and his current fascination with P.T. Barnum. For the inventive and eccentric jazz composer Carla Bley, the National Anthem proves an unlikely source of inspiration. Bley brings wry humor to a conversation about the challenges of writing for her very big bands, her early days as a cigarette girl in NYC jazz clubs, and why America might be famous for baked beans.

"I went to Nashville on a 2-week leave I had, and it changed my life. It was like I suddenly knew I..."

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:59:00 -0500

“I went to Nashville on a 2-week leave I had, and it changed my life. It was like I suddenly knew I was home because it was a town that was where creative people were all about the love of the songs…a total absence of ego and selfishness. You know, people liked other people’s songs just as much as they liked their own. It was just a wonderful atmosphere.”

- Kris Kristofferson, on his decision to move to Nashville.

Alright y’all, you’ve got one final chance to win...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:28:01 -0500

Alright y’all, you’ve got one final chance to win tickets to our 15th anniversary concert. Correctly answer this question by Thursday, April 18:

On the 2005 benefit album, “Our New Orleans,” Irma Thomas recorded a version of the classic “Back Water Blues.” Which legendary blues woman recorded the original 1927 version?

Send your answers to friends@amroutes.org for a chance to win!

Kris Kristofferson had just started work as a janitor at Capitol...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:29:04 -0500

Kris Kristofferson had just started work as a janitor at Capitol Studios, when Bob Dylan was on his second week of the Blonde on Blonde sessions:

In those days – maybe it’s still the same, but – in a 3 hour session, they expected you to get three songs done, about that. And Bob went in there and sat down at the piano, and the band was all the top musicians in Nashville. They’re off playing ping-pong and pool and waiting, and he would write all night long, and then around 7 o’ clock in the morning, he’d call them in and they’d go in and cut some masterpiece.

Kris Kristofferson, on Janis Joplin and her version of “Me...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:57:43 -0500

Kris Kristofferson, on Janis Joplin and her version of “Me and Bobby McGee”:

Well, Janis was, we were very close for a short amount of time. She had learned the song from Bobby Neuwirth, who worked with Bob Dylan a lot. Bobby Neuwirth had shown her the song before I knew Bobby either – it was Roger Miller’s version of it – and she learned the song. I never heard her sing it while we were together. I heard it the day after she died, when the producer asked me to come to the studio to hear what they had done, and she had recorded it. It was very difficult for me to listen to it for a long time… It still pulls my heart.

Kris Kristofferson, on A Star is Born: Kris: It’s pretty amazing...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:27:00 -0500

Kris Kristofferson, on A Star is Born:

Kris: It’s pretty amazing to me to this day that I can still remember driving down in Los Angeles and outside one of the big studios there’s this huge, huge picture of me and Barbra up there… shirtless.

Nick: You or Barbra?

Kris: Both of us, I think. But it was a long way from working 50 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico.

"The thing is, with country music…most performers were songwriters. But the song was the important..."

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:56:18 -0500

“The thing is, with country music…most performers were songwriters. But the song was the important thing. The song was the basis of it all. And people like Hank Williams and Johnny Cash were great performers and everything, but it was the songs that moved people. It was all from the heart and the soul. It wasn’t like something off of Tin Pan Alley, where you’re writing songs that somebody’s going to make a hit of. It was serious art for those of us that were doing it. We thought we were artists.”

- Kris Kristofferson, on songwriters. We’ve got two hours with the singer-songwriter, actor and counter-culture icon on this week’s show.

A Grateful Journey: Kris Kristofferson

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 09:47:54 -0500

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A conversation with a man of many talents: songwriter, actor, boxer, military man, among many titles, Kris Kristofferson, reflecting on his life in music, his songwriting craft, and the nature of gratitude for his life’s adventures, as expressed in his recent album, Feeling Mortal.

Documentary filmmaker Les Blank died Sunday at the age of 77....

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:38:00 -0500

Documentary filmmaker Les Blank died Sunday at the age of 77. You can watch two of his films, Dry Wood (clip above) and Cigarette Blues on Folkstreams.

We were lucky enough to speak to Les in 2007, with a conversation about his work with Lightnin’ Hopkins, Clifton Chenier and Dizzy Gillespie. Listen here.

Festival Time in Lafayette, LA

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 10:26:52 -0500

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Join us on the festival grounds in Lafayette, LA for the 25th annual Festival International. We’ll sample outstanding live performances in Cajun, Creole, Latin and Blues, including Keb’ Mo’, Sonny Landreth, and Steve Riley. Be sure to get out your dancing shoes for cumbia with Miami’s Locos Por Juana, two-steps with Yvette Landry and Cajun waltzes with the Lost Bayou Ramblers. Plus an all-star South Louisiana tribute to the best of swamp pop, Cajun classics and zydeco.

We’re giving away one pair of free tickets every week...

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:55:00 -0500

We’re giving away one pair of free tickets every week leading up to the 15th Anniversary concert. To enter the drawing, correctly answer this week’s question:

What famous Hollywood actress made an appearance on the Lost Bayou Ramblers’ 2012 release, Mammoth?

Send your answer to friends@amroutes.org by Sunday, March 31 for a chance to win!

Home Grown Soul: Booker T. Jones & Jimmy Hughes

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 10:21:25 -0500

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This week we visit with two masters of Southern soul. Multi-instrumentalist Booker T. Jones, along with his group the MGs, helped to create the legendary Stax sound. We talk with Booker T. about growing up in Memphis and his current work with the up and coming Southern rock band, the Drive-By Truckers. Soul singer Jimmy Hughes got his start at another landmark of Southern music, FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Hughes shares stories about his classic hits “Steal Away” and “Why Not Tonight,” as well as his move from gospel to soul and back again.