Just back from a whirlwind roadtrip to visit family in Minnesota and Nebraska.

9 days. 8 states. 2,655 miles. 12 CDs to help pass the time:

• Brandon Rhyder, Conviction
• Chris Knight, Enough Rope
• Collin Herring, The Other Side of Kindness
• Gary Allan, Tough All Over
• Guy Clark, Workbench Songs
• Hank III, Straight to Hell
• Los Lonely Boys, Sacred
• Micky & the Motorcars, Careless
• Randy Rogers Band, Just a Matter of Time
• Sorta, Strange and Sad but True
• Todd Snider, The Devil You Know
• Wilco, Kicking Television

Two new reviews:
 
Leaving, TX, 100 Miles to Sunday (Lucky Range Records)

 
Chris Knight, Enough Rope (Drifter's Church Productions)

Journalist Andy Langer profiles Collings Guitars in this week's Austin Chronicle:

…[Lyle Lovett] pays for his Collings guitars. Full list price. As do other Collings players like Keith Richards, Pete Townshend, Andy Summers, Emmylou Harris, John Fogerty, and Joni Mitchell. In Austin, they're played by folks such as Darden Smith, Stephen Bruton, Alejandro Escovedo, and Bruce Robison. Not a one of them got theirs free.
 
Unlike most guitar-makers, Collings doesn't do endorsement deals. Lovett says he's loyal to Collings guitars because they're the best money can buy. Which goes a long way in explaining why the Collings success story reads like a page torn from the Tipping Point. This is a business built on evangelical word-of-mouth: Collings has never even produced a sales brochure, let alone employed a publicist or set aside capital for an advertising and marketing budget.
 
Read the full profile
See how a Collings guitar is made

I'm no guitar guru, but Collings makes some of the flat-out most beautiful instruments I've ever seen. You can't help but notice when someone is playing one onstage. And the news that they're working on an electric guitar is simply tantalizing.

Start planning for September:
 
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

Three new reviews posted this evening:
 
10 City Run, Somethin' Else (Universal South)

 
Johnny Dowd, Cruel Words (Bongo Beat)

 
The Derailers, Soldiers of Love (Palo Duro)