It seems to me, in this clouded state, that despite the obvious clear and present threat of complete annihilation and chaos, that the total loss of hope is also the abandonment of reality.

I made the conscious decision to embrace life, in whatever weird form it takes today. Life is strange, and life is enough to twist my head completely around every once and a while. But there is always beauty. And to abandon the pursuit of beauty is to actively disregard this wonderful world that puts us to bed every night and wakes us every morning.

So to hell with giving in. To hell with giving up. There's too much out there waiting to be seen, heard and had. And there's only so much time left in which to get that done.

(Disclaimer: The preceding was written late at night, after a very long day. Stress + Lack of Sleep + Fake but nonetheless anxiety-arousing article = weird semi-coherent posts.)

Posted 1:51 AM by Jackson Cooper |

Back to the subject of Louisville music.

The next couple of days have the potential to be stellar, musically speaking. Tonight is the latest installment of the 6-year running Bluegrass Anonymous bluegrass jam, now located in St. Matthews at the Bluegrass Brewing Company. I've written about this thing here over and over again, but I can't say enough times how fun it is. Lots of folks gathered just for the sake of playing a whole mess of lively, foot-stomping bluegrass.

Word on the street is that there's going to be a bigger than normal group of pickers there tonight. Things get rolling around 8:30 and don't stop until they kick us out. If you make it by, be sure and say hello. If you don't recognize me, ask around for Jackson. Most people there know me. And I just might be playing my bass. Maybe.

Thursday night is jam-packed with great hillbilly and bluegrass music. Over at the BBC, Tommy Brown and County Line Grass will be ripping through a set of white hot bluegrass. The BBC and the fine people in charge of that establishment have really taken a shine to the bluegrass crowd (and their healthy appetite for beer, no doubt). The show is free, so what's your excuse?

Down the road a piece, Austin's favorite son and hillbilly genius Wayne Hancock will roll into Headliners for what is sure to be a memorable set. Wayne is one of my all time favorite current country artists. I only caught a brief glimpse of him in Green Bay because he was playing at the same time as Big Sandy and the Fly Rite Trio (reunion set) and another Austin act, The Bellfuries. I love Wayne, and from what I heard, he was smoking, but those other two acts won out that night.

Tomorrow there really is no competition. I may make it down to the BBC for a bit of the early-starting bluegrass show, but I will be at Headliners for all of Wayne's set. We are definitely spoiled in Louisville where Bluegrass is concerned. But good hard driving hillbilly music is hard to come by, and it will be available in abundance tomorrow courtesy of Wayne "The Train" Hancock.

I've seen Wayne several times. The first time I saw him was on my first trip to a full-fledged Rockabilly event. It was the first new year's eve celebration after my graduation from high school, welcoming in the new year, 1998. Wayne was the headliner at the beautiful Fountain Square Theatre, a venue that would play my host to a long string of Rockabilly events in the future. I loved every minute of it. I loved the people. I loved the atmosphere. But most of all, I loved the music.

Wayne has a distinctively nasal voice, and does a little yodeling now and again. Until that night, I never thought I'd like yodeling. Mind you, this is just a short little song-ending yodel a la Jimmie Rodgers or Hank Williams. Not Slim Whitman style vocal acrobatics, the likes of which were used to kill many Martians in the classic "Mars Attacks".

That first real event sucked me into the Rockabilly world, a place where I spent much time for the next four years or so. Rockabilly, much like bluegrass, is one of those weird genres that for some reason remained in tact over the generations. It has been played, almost unchanged, ever since its emergence and very brief flirtation with popularity in the mid 50's.

It's the simplicity and honesty of the style that keeps people interested. The satisfaction of knowing something known to by so few others is addictive. It's that separation from the mainstream that, ironically enough, brings large groups of people together from across the planet to celebrate the music. Whether it's a small regional gathering in Indianapolis or Atlanta or a monstrous giant of a gathering like Green Bay or Las Vegas, the people come for the same reasons.

On Thursday night there will probably be a bunch of casual listeners, some country enthusiasts out to hear a rare traditionalist act, very few hipsters, and a couple folks who really get it. And live it. And love it.

***Update: I almost forgot that the wonderful Fire The Saddle is having a CD release party/show at The Lighthouse on Friday. They're playing with the infamous Sean Garrison, so the show should be nothing if not interesting. Then on Saturday at the Lighthouse you can catch Satchel's Pawn Shop with 10 Months After. Rock!

Posted 1:13 PM by Jackson Cooper |

Oh boy. These all sound very familiar.
(via GeekPress)

Posted 10:26 AM by Jackson Cooper |

After waiting for the tornadoes to pass overhead, I went to see Jackass: The Movie Sunday. There were a few slow points, but the rest of the time I was laughing so hard I cried. There's nothing like a little dumb physical comedy to lift my spirits.

Of course, we already have some dolts out there trying to be the next Steve-O. Jim Treacher makes some poignant comments and points to this hilarious Seanbaby article on the subject.

That reminds me, you need to go read Seanbaby right now. This guy makes me laugh out loud every time I read him. I can go back and read the same articles over and over and laugh every time. (Which you often have to do because he updates so rarely.) Go now. It's like a punch in the neck. Only you get laughs instead of pain.

Posted 9:17 AM by Jackson Cooper |

There are times when I get an urge to start deleting and not stop until it's all gone. I can't count the number of posts, comments, emails, etc. I delete on a daily basis. I get halfway through, then something or other leads me to scrap it. Sometimes the idea isn't forming correctly on the page. Sometimes the momentary emotion that lead me to start writing wears off. And then there are those times when I'm so frustrated with myself and my writing that I have to seriously control my urge to delete everything. The whole site.

So if you come by one day and everything's gone, you know why.

Posted 3:09 PM by Jackson Cooper |