Reckless Kelly made a rare appearance in Birmingham, Alabama this weekend. And according to this review in The Birmingham News, the band made quite an impression:

Being a Texas country band that's based in Austin means (almost) never having to say, "We're outside Texas." The gargantuan size of both Texas and the Texas music fan base in the state allows the band to tour extensively without leaving the state, which gave its rare visit to the Magic City particular impact.
 
Then the band lived up to the anticipation with such songs as "Break My Heart Tonight," "I Still Do," "Vancouver" and "You Don't Want Me Around." The charismatic and at times female-swoon-inducing Willy Braun fronted the band, black hair secured with a do-rag, his throaty voice perfect for the songs that ranged in tone from earthy to ethereal.
 
The highlight of the night was a throbbing rendition of the Stones' "Wild Horses." What began as a country-rock band's take on a rock band's country song ended up with a jaw-dropping, fuzz-toned guitar throwdown by lead guitarist David Abeyta that lasted several minutes but never wore out its welcome or devolved into overkill.
 
In contrast to Willy Braun's charismatic persona, Abeyta generally stands to one side of the stage, head down, providing the crunchy backbone of the song. The whole mixture works to perfection, and it's a shame the band calls Austin home. Birmingham could use a few resident bands like Reckless Kelly.

It's true that some regionally-popular bands tend to keep their shows within the state, but I'd definitely say that's not the case with Reckless Kelly. They seem to play outside Texas as much as anyone. More than half the upcoming dates listed on their tour page are beyond state lines. Just because they don't play Birmingham regularly doesn't mean they never cross the border.

Anyway, I learned something from the article: that Birmingham is nicknamed the Magic City. Huh, who knew?

Contemporary Christian music rarely piques my interest, but news on the late minister and musician Keith Green managed to do just that. CBN and the AP report that Sparrow Records recently acquired Green's recording archives and will release new music later this year, first on iTunes and then on CD.

The New York native was a child prodigy who embraced Christianity following a tumultuous early adulthood, and in the late '70s he and wife Melody moved to Green Valley, Texas to establish Last Days Ministries.

Green recorded and released several Christian albums through traditional music publishers, acquiring fans such as Bob Dylan along the way. But he eventually rejected the business aspects of the music industry, got out of his publishing contracts, and began distributing albums for little or no cost.

Considered a pivotal figure in the "Jesus Movement," Green remains a pivotal and enigmatic figure:

"I think he was one of the best songwriters of the modern era of Christian music," said John Styll, president of the Gospel Music Association in Nashville, Tenn. "It was vulnerable and transparent and absolutely not contrived."
 
Others agree that Keith Green was an original.
 
"He was intense about everything — everything from his music to his spiritual journey to where you could get the best cheeseburger with grilled onions and a chocolate malt," said Randy Stonehill, who wrote "Your Love Broke Through" with Green and Todd Fishkind.
 
Green's compassion was so deep that he invited street people to stay in his home, which grew to become a Christian commune with seven homes and 70 people. "My life was radically changed by that experience," said Jerry Bryant, the commune's first pastor.
 
Yet Green could also offend the flock with his blunt "no compromise" approach to faith. "Christians don't like to talk about hypocrisy any more than turkeys like to talk about Thanksgiving," Green often said.
 
He groused about being celebrated for his music, considering himself simply an instrument of God. Giving him credit, Green said, was like praising a pencil for producing a poem.
 
He was critical of the "industry" of Christian music, which grew explosively after his death.
 
At the peak of his career, he became convinced that ministry should not cost money. He talked his way out of a record contract so he could give his music away for "whatever you can afford."
 
Source: AP

Green died 25 years ago this week when his small plane crashed while giving a tour of his property, killing all 11 on board, including two of his four children. Wife Melody continues Last Days Ministries from California. The Green Valley property is now part of Teen Mania, which includes popular networking site Battle Cry among its ministries.

The Rocky Mountain Outlook in Canmore, Alberta profiles Ruthie Foster, who talks about her career growth over the past decade as well as the heartbreak and healing behind The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster:

"I know now it's all right for a woman to stand up and say, 'I'm smart, I'm funny and I'm sexy. And for the songs about past relationships? It was tough at first, I'm still in the middle of it, taking counselling. But it's good to release that and let it go and hopefully heal somebody else.
 
"It's definitely a healing CD. I get e-mails from people who felt deeply about it and that's important feedback for me. I know I'm not the only one out there (hurting). But I'm good now. Music is a sweet counsel and it can help you so much."

Six months after its release, I still believe this is one of the year's best albums. After peaking at #4, it currently sits at #8 on Billboard's blues chart.

Foster plays the Canmore Folk Festival next weekend.

Long Island paper Newsday profiles Jack Ingram, who is still defending his inclusion of "Lips of an Angel" on This Is It:

Ingram said his love of music is what led him to record "Lips of an Angel" even though he knew it might cause a bit of trouble. "I was torn," he said. "That song perked people's ears up. That song really provided opportunities for me. It made a lot of people say, 'Who's that?' And I have no hang-ups about country versus rock.
 
"But hell hath no fury than a 13-year-old Hinder fan scorned," he said with a laugh. "It's never fun to have people throw things at you, either, physically or verbally."
 
Ingram said that if he thought he would only be known for singing that song, he wouldn't have done it. "People have the idea already of what I'm like," he said. "And only I know what's in my artistic tank. That song, it's gonna be only one of many things. That's what I'm getting ready to show."

Ingram plays tomorrow night at the B.B. King Blues Club in Manhattan.

Military newspaper Stars and Stripes recently profiled Dallas native Brian Smith, a rap artist who hasn't let two tours of duty in Iraq slow down his recording career. An Army sergeant who trains Iraqi officers by day, he spends his free time in a makeshift studio stocked with $15,000 in recording gear.

"It's real ghetto right now, but it gets the job done, and people come here to record when they pass through Q-West," said Smith, aka "Mr. Floss," describing the mattresses and patchwork foam that line the homemade wooden recording booth in his room.…
 
"The thought process – everything – it's done right here," he said. "There have been times that I have stayed up all night mixing and re-mixing till I get it right, and then I put on my uniform and go to work."

The article adds that Smith has released two albums of his own: "Screw You Down, volumes one and two. Volume one sold nearly 8,000 copies on the street back in Texas, while Volume two, known as the 'Q-West Edition,' was recently released."

Q-West is shorthand for Forward Operating Base Qayyarah West airfield in northern Iraq.

The McKay Brothers, one of my favorite bands on the Texas country scene, feature prominently in John Goodspeed's profile of Bandera's burgeoning music scene.

Brothers Hollin and Noel have celebrated the beauty, tranquility, collegiality, and just plain oddity of small-town life with songs like "Friday Night" and "When I Reached the Colorado" from 2003's self-titled debut, plus "Bandera Style (Whiskey, Smoke and Beer)" and "The Disappearing Texas" from last year's Cold Beer & Hot Tamales.

They welcome the business opportunities that come with newly expanded venues like the Longhorn Saloon and the Blue Gene's Cowboy Sports Bar, but they also wonder if such growth may put Bandera's charm at risk:

"It's bittersweet," Hollin McKay said. "I like the bar owners, but it's just different. Honestly, it's a different kind of vibe than [Arkey Blue's Silver Dollar Bar] and the way Bandera was. I can see some of that authenticity slipping away. But maybe when you get older you look back and wish things were like they used to be."
 
Noel McKay agrees.
 
"It's changing really fast," he said. "Hollin and I are just hoping it's not a victim of its own success."

Only time will tell if Bandera could indeed become "the next little Branson," as predicted by 11th Street Cowboy Bar owner James McGroarty. But the bigger question is, should it even try?

Jimmy LaFave and Dale Watson are among the musicians singing on "Save Town Lake - Taking Our Stand", a new protest song designed to raise awareness of the rampant development along the Town Lake corridor and throughout central Austin.

With a chorus of…

Setbacks and variances, who's fooling who
Town Lake's the keepsake we're sticking to
Enforce the code and protect the shore
Your variances aren't very fun anymore

…it's unlikely to join the ranks of classic protest songs like, say, "We Shall Overcome" or "This Land Is Your Land." But kudos to SaveTownLake.org for drawing upon the local music scene to help spread the word about the simmering struggle over our evolving city skyline.

Bob Schneider, Kinky Friedman, and Stephen Bruton will be among those joining LaFave and Watson for the "Concert to Save Town Lake" tomorrow night at Stubb's.

Matt the Electrician won the Southwest region in the Mountain Stage NewSong contest. The Austin singer-songwriter was one of 10 regional finalists to perform at the Cactus Cafe Thursday night.

He now moves on to the national finals in New York on September 29, where he will be one of 12 musicians competing for prizes including a spot on the Mountain Stage radio show, $300 cash, a showcase at next year's Folk Alliance conference, and a full scholarship to the NewSong Academy.

You can listen to songs from Matt the Electrician and all the other Mountain Stage NewSong finalists.

If you see a hazy cloud hovering over west Austin on August 10, don't call the fire department. It's probably just the Austin Freedom Fest at the Backyard.

Willie Nelson will headline the concert, which benefits the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), and the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM).

Other artists scheduled to appear include Asleep at the Wheel, Carolyn Wonderland, and comedian Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling. Ex-Cowboy, ex-Oiler, 5-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman, and NORML board member Mark Stepnoski will host the day's festivities.

$45 general admission and $55 reserved seating tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10 am.

I met The Joke Man hawking his comedy gadgets at CES in Las Vegas a couple years ago. He's a charming and very funny man. And after a few minutes chatting about his love of Austin and his memories of that year's SXSW (he raved about the South Austin Jug Band), he invited me and my friend/co-worker up to his penthouse suite for some Austin Freedom Fest–friendly activities. Since neither of us is inclined to such relaxation aids, we declined. Jackie asked for our contact information and said he'd keep in touch. We never counted on that, of course. But a week or so after returning home, we received a box full of his themed toys, CDs, and t-shirts plus a note saying how he enjoyed meeting us and hoped to see us again when he next visited Austin. The Joke Man is a real class act.

Steve Earle will release Washington Square Serenade on September 25. This will be his first studio album on New West Records, and also his first since 2004's The Revolution Starts…Now. The three-year recording hiatus is the usually-prolific Earle's longest break since the early 1990s.

From Billboard:

The 12-track set was produced by the Dust Brothers' John King and features a duet with Earle's wife, Allison Moorer, on the track "Days Aren't Long Enough."
 
Also included on the album is a cover of Tom Waits' "Way Down in the Hole," which doubles as the theme song for the HBO series "The Wire," on which Earle stars. The Brazilian group Forro In The Dark guests on the track "City of Immigrants."
 
Washington Square Serenade will be available as a deluxe edition with a bonus DVD, including a walking tour of New York's Greenwich Village area with Earle and a behind-the-scenes documentary.
 
Earle, who is also writing his first novel for Houghton Mifflin, will tour this fall. A handful of shows are on tap so far, including appearances at Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival and Austin, Texas' Austin City Limits in September.
 
Here is the track list for Washington Square Serenade:
 
"Tennessee Blues"
"Down Here Below"
"Satellite Radio"
"City of Immigrants"
"Sparkle and Shine"
"Come Home to Me"
"Jericho Road"
"Oxycontin Blues"
"Red Is the Color"
"Steve's Hammer (For Pete)"
"Days Aren't Long Enough"
"Way Down in the Hole"

While Washington Square Serenade might break Steve's studio silence, it's not the first Earle album of 2007. Justin Townes Earle released his debut EP, Yuma, earlier this year. I had a chance to listen to Justin's rough cuts at SXSW a couple years ago, and as presaged on Just an American Boy the son is just as talented as his father.