original rock

Video Comentary

Some things just ooze Americana, and country and rock ‘n’ roll definitely rank up there with apple pie and baseball.

But if you can successfully combine those two musical genres, watch out.

“We’re country and rock,” Cody Canada said. “We’re about as American as Tom Petty.”

Canada and his band the Departed return to the ‘Dale Wednesday, October 17 for a performance at the Copper Dragon Brewing Company. The group is preparing for the release of a new album, Adventus, November 13. Uncle Lucius will warm up.

With Adventus, the Departed spreads their wings with rocking tracks and ready-to-make-you-move tunes. The single “Worth the Fight” has a Heartbreakers feel as Canada sings: “Got me wandering out all night / Hard to worry if it’s worth the fight.”

Starting in September, the band planned to issue a new song each week leading up to the album’s release. So far, they’ve put out “Worth the Fight,” “Hobo,” and “Burden.”

Living on the road has its perqs, and inspiration for the new album came out of different places.

“We’d find it anywhere,” Canada said. “We were writing in hotels, the back of a the bus, anytime we could get a minute or two.”

For fifteen years, Canada helmed Cross Canadian Ragweed, a band that epitomized the Red Dirt music scene and played with Dierks Bentley, Stoney LaRue, Micky and the Motorcars, and Reckless Kelly. Bentley even referenced Ragweed in his 2007 hit “Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go),” singing that in his car “Ragweed’s rockin’ on the radio.”

After Ragweed broke up, Canada and Ragweed bassist Jeremy Plato joined with drummer Dave Bowen, guitarist Seth James, and keyboard player Steve Littleton to create a new sound in the Departed. The band’s first album, This is Indian Land, fulfilled a dream of Canada’s to make an all-Oklahoma record, with each track a cover of a Sooner State songwriter.

Ragweed, however, is often a difficult act to follow. Canada said he would like to get to a point in his career where more fans and critics would accept the new direction he has decided to take in his musical career.

“I understand. Some bands go on and you want them to last forever,” Canada said. “And, for whatever reason, they don’t. But [the Departed] is here, and we’re going to stick around for awhile. Maybe even forever. Who knows?”

When he is at home, Canada said he spends an entire week with his family and children. He said his children understand that daddy doesn’t work a typical nine-to-five job, which has its own kind of perqs.

“The oldest said the other day that she wished I could stay around forever, but then the four-year-old said, ‘He can’t because that is how we get to go to Disney World,’” Canada said.

Tickets are $12 in advance. For tickets to Copper Dragon events, stop by Pinch Penny Liquors or visit the J. Goldberg section of <http://www.JayTV.com>.

For more information, visit <http://www.TheDepartedMusic.com>.

who: Cody Canada and the Departed / Uncle Lucius

what: alternative-country showcase

where: Copper Dragon Brewing Company

when: Wednesday, October 17

Video Comentary

The title of one of Sheryl Crow’s most popular songs is “Every Day Is a Winding Road.” In many ways the title describes Crow’s nineteen-year journey on the way to becoming one of America’s most honored female pop artists. Now, after seven gold and platinum studio albums, collaborations with some of music’s most celebrated artists, and nine Grammy awards from thirty-two nominations, the pride of Kennett, Missouri is coming home to the Heartland. Crow will bring her driving pop/rock/country Friday, June 22 to Walker’s Bluff along with special guest Brandy Clark.

Crow celebrates the journey of her life in her latest studio album, One-hundred Miles From Memphis, released in 2010. The album is as diverse and eclectic as Crow, celebrating her roots in the earth along the backroads that stretch the distance to Memphis that lie between Crow's sleepy midsouth birthplace and the home of the blues.

Crow starting to write songs and play in her own band by the time she graduated from Kennett High School in 1980. She attended Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, graduating in 1984 with degrees in music and education, all the while playing with the band she founded, Cashmere, in Saint Louis.

Crow moved to Los Angeles in 1986 and quickly found work as a writer and singer of advertising jingles. During that time she began recording demos of her own songs and landing jobs as a backup vocalist-- including, in 1987, for Michael Jackson’s Bad world tour. By the end of the 1980s she had backed up Sting, Rod Stewart, and Don Henley.

In 1991, Crow signed to A and M records. That same year, she joined the popular L.A.-based Tuesday Music Club. With help from that collective, Crow released her first CD, Tuesday Night Music Club, in 1993. On the strength of Crow's first million-selling single, "All I Wanna Do," the album shot to number one and achieved platinum album status.

In addition to music, Crow, who celebrates her fiftieth birthday in 2012, wrote If It Makes You Healthy, a vegetarian cookbook named after one of her hit songs, "If It Makes You Happy." She also teamed with Oscar-winning writer/director Barry Levinson to bring his classic 1982 coming-of-age dramady Diner to Broadway; the show, which features a score crafted by Crow, will open in New York this fall. A breast cancer survivor, Crow recently was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor.

Now, as she celebrates a two-decade journey that has taken her around the world, Crow brings it back to where it started: the Heartland.

Tickets start in price at $55. For tickets, visit <http://SouthernTicketsOnline.com>, call (618) 453-6000, or stop by any Southern Tickets Online walkup location, including Shryock Auditorium, McLeod Theater, and Walker's Bluff General Store. There are no service charges for in-person purchases, though phone and online purchases will carry charges ranging from $1 to $1.50.

For more about Sheryl Crow, visit her website at <http://www.SherylCrow.com>.

who: Sheryl Crow / Brandy Clark

what: original rock / country-western

where: Walker's Bluff

when: Friday, June 22

It look's like you don't have Adobe Flash Player installed. Get it now.

It look's like you don't have Adobe Flash Player installed. Get it now.

Video Comentary

words by Jennifer Mulnix

picture by Laura Partain

Local bands Government Jobs, the Jewels, and Kid Tiger will play Thursday, April 26 at the Hangar 9 to showcase new local music. These bands are preparing for exciting things. Government Jobs are releasing a four-song seven-inch at the Hangar show. (Listen to two tracks on the MP3 section of Nightlife’s web project at <http://www.CarbondaleRocks.com>.) The Jewels are getting ready to release a full-length album, and Kid Tiger is gearing up to record a full-length album this fall. Government Jobs and the Jewels will also perform Saturday, April 28 at Tres Hombres with Gnarly Brown.

Nightlife asked David Allen from Government Jobs and the Jewels a few questions about the upcoming show and some of Carbondale’s most exciting new bands.

You are definitely an active member of the Carbondale music scene. How do you do it? Time travel?

I have a twin. Nobody knows.

Tell us about the seven-inch that Government Jobs is releasing. How did the name Government Jobs come about, anyway?

Well, Gov Jobs started as a solo project for Brett Haley [of Parlor and the Spokesmen]. He had written a bunch of songs and we took a weekend in November and I recorded him playing all the instruments, and that is what is on the seven-inch. It is a four-song seven-inch. There wasn't really a plan for it past that, but when we started showing it to people they began to bug him to start a band to play the songs, which he didn't want to do, but after a long night of pestering by my roommate Marcus he finally agreed.

So Brett picked Marcus [Mader of the Jewels, Wei Zhongle, and Nighty Night] to play drums, me to play bass, and Matt McGuire [of Secondary Modern and Wei Zhongle] to play guitar. Then... a very cool friend told us he wanted to help us put it out on a record, and we decided that if we were going to have a record we should probably do a tour, and voilà , here we are. We leave for an east-coast tour in the beginning of May.

The Jewels are a bit different than many other bands in C’dale. What was the inspiration?

[laughing] Yeah, the Jewels is a weird band. Really, it started when we were all at a party and there was band there but they weren't playing, and we had had a little to drink, so we just started to improv and it was really fun. Then we decided, “Oh, maybe we should do that again,” so we got together, and Nathan Doyle [of Young Loves] came along to provide spiritual guidance, and under his tutelage we wrote three songs we still play today. They are probably even our "hits."

Since then we have played a lot and gotten a lot jazzier. For all the first-time listeners, Kev is the jam, he is so good. Me and Marcus are just some scrubs and don't know how to play jazz. We are self-taught and just do our thing, and Kev reacts and makes us sound okay. [laughs]

Basically the inspiration is, we have all played in lots of "rock" bands and bands where you have to care about what kind of band you are, what kind of shows you play, your image, and all that B.S. The Jewels is not that. We just show up and play whatever we want, and it feels great.

Tell us about the full-length album for the Jewels. When will it be released? What's it all about?

Well, first off, it is amazing. [laughs] No, but we are pretty proud of it. It was a lot of fun to make. We went into my studio for two days, planned to record the twelve songs we had all live to eight-track tape and be done with it. We did that, but then adding a few small things seemed like a good idea, so we started to do that, and it changed it in ways we had never imagined, really cool ways, but it ended up taking us three more months of slowly picking at it until we had all of the things we wanted. It is pretty wild. Kevin plays, like, seventeen different instruments on it, but not in an annoying way. I know that sounds impossible, but it is. [laughs] It is like a live show for us. It all sounds very live, but has more depth....

The record is done; we just finished mixing it with David Brown [of Secondary Modern and Freedom Ride]. I don't think we will have it by this show, though, because we are having it mastered by this awesome guy, Timothy Stollenwerk in Portland. He masters all of the Mississippi Records releases and a lot of other really great music. His stuff sounds the best. I cannot wait to hear it.

What are your plans for the upcoming year with these two bands?

The Jewels are going to shave our heads-- but not our beards-- and Marcus and I are going to quit playing drums and bass and become Kevin's saxophone proté gé s, and then we will recreate Dickie Landry's Fifteen Saxophones.

Really, I'm not too sure. We just kind of roll with it, but I know that we already have new material for a Jewels followup EP and we have a lot of ideas about that, and hopefully we will be playing a lot.

Is anyone reading this? Book us some shows!

Brett is moving to Chicago in June, so I can't predict what will happen with Gov Jobs, but I know he has more songs because we are playing them, so I hope to start convincing him to record them soon. You better come see us, because we might not play much longer!

What can C’dale folks expect at the release show at the Hangar?

People can expect the Gov Jobs records, which will be beautiful. They can expect our longest set ever-- we hope to break the twenty-minute mark, but I can't promise that will happen. Bring your stopwatch.

People can expect to hear some special guests with the Jewels; we are trying to recreate a lot of what will be on the album. You can also expect Kev-o to have less hair that usual, Marcus to have his biggest beard ever, and I can't tell you what to expect from me ‘cuz I'm unpredictable.

Oh, and you can expect Kid Tiger to sound awesome, because they sound better and better every time I see them, and you can expect to see all their fans there who have more fun than other bands’ fans, because they are cool like that.

Anything else you would like to share?

Yes, actually. Mudsills are a wonderful new Carbondale band, go see them. Rob Jacobs is my hero, both musically and spiritually-- follow him on Twitter. The record industry is kinda cool right now; listen to everything that Mississippi Records, Numero, Light in the Attic, et cetera releases and you won't be disappointed. Write John Dwyer a letter and tell him that Thee Oh Sees need to come to Carbondale and play or I will never be truly happy.

I'm late now! Come to this show!

who: Government Jobs CD release party

what: punk, folk

where: Hangar 9; Tres Hombres

when: Thursday, April 26 w/ Jewels (jazz) / Kid Tiger (art rock, folk); Saturday, April 28 w/ Jewels / Gnarly Brown