Redneck Ramblings: Volume 2

Jules with the second instalment of his country ramblings...

Well, after a wave soaked summer, during which my eyes refused to dry, the swell has died for a bit and I have finally gotten some time off to sit down with the laptop and record my latest ramblings.

The Midlands Festival

Middle of the road, middle aged and middle of nowhere, to be honest, those were my initial thoughts when I first heard about The Midlands Festival earlier this year; billed as a two day festival featuring the best in contemporary country music, its line-up proved to be rather a roll call of conservative, pop-orientated country artists from the 1970s to today. Kenny Rogers, Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith, Jackson Browne, Lambchop, Glen Campbell, Guy Clark, Van Morrison and Charlie Landsborough all stepped up to give the fans what they were looking for, comfortable music to sip their beers to in the summer sun. I have to confess it wasn't my thing so I stayed away but from what I hear, people had a good time. And good luck to them.

What did sadden me though was the axing of the mooted third stage early on in the public promotion of the festival on the basis that the people who were buying tickets for the event didn't understand the concept of there being more than one stage. According to a source I spoke to who was working on the festival, people were ringing up and asking, "How will I see all the acts on offer if they are all playing on different stages at the same time?" As a result, the organisers dropped a number of fine home-grown county acts such as Bray Vista, Niall Toner and Prison Love from the bill with unseemly haste. Personally, I think it was a lost opportunity to showcase Ireland's own burgeoning alt-country music scene, one which doesn't appeal to the kind of person who adores acrylic knitwear, can't understand the concept of multiple stages, and longs to sing along to 'Rhinestone Cowboy'. Here is a very short list of Ireland's ambassadors of alternative twang, all of whom can be found on MySpace.com: Niall Toner, Sick and Indigent Song Club, Bray Vista, El Diablo, Prison Love, Blood Red Mountain Band.

And if you want to see a country music festival that showcases the cutting edge of the genre rather than the old favourites of yesteryear then the Carlsberg Kilkenny Rhythm & Roots Festival is a must, taking place as it does on the May Bank Holiday weekend every year.

So Where Was I Then?

Actually, I was away surfing in Sligo and attending a S.I.R.F fundraiser in the Dunes Tavern in Strandhill. S.I.R.F is the Strandhill Indonesian Relief Fund, set up by a group of Sligo Surfers, to fundraise for the victims of the recent earthquake in Java, Indonesia. They have gotten great support from the entire Irish surfing community, including Irish surfer and singer Kian Egan (Westlife) who got raffled off at the event to some ladies for 700 euros. To date, the fund has raised nearly 17,000.00 euros. For further information, contact Allan 087 653 2209 or Barry 086 1999015

Mostly I've been listening to...

'No Depression in Heaven' by Sheryl Crow

Written by A.P Carter and recorded by The Carter Family in 1936, this song gave its name to the Alt-Country Magazine 'No Depression' and Sheryl Crow's lovely version on the tribute album 'The Unbroken Circle - The Musical Heritage of The Carter Family' showcases what a fine country singer she really is when given the chance. You can see her video for the song here.

'Love Reunited' by The Desert Rose Band

RTE's Rattlebag arts show is closing its doors for business for good at the moment and, as a result, they are running a series of 'best of' programmes from the archives. I heard a great interview with Chris Hillman on Tuesday which covered his music career from his time as bass player with The Byrds to the Desert Rose Band. He also spoke about Gram Parsons whom he felt had 'squandered his talent' like thousands of other guys he had met in the music business and also gave credit to The Eagle for making what he termed 'folk rock' a success. The show finished with a wonderful acoustic version of 'Love Reunited' which is unusual for a country song in that it deals with staying together with your wife and warns the listener, "Don't think love is one sided", a really beautiful tune.

'Main Titles: Superman Returns' by John Ottman & John Williams

This track is probably the best thing about Bryan Singer's god-awful and derivative movie about the Man of Steel; a cinematic hack job that manages to copy most of the best bits of Richard Donner's classic original, minus the warmth, humour or humanity. It's a lousy film; turning the outsize exploits of a superhero who favours the wearing of his underpants outside his trousers into a domestic drama, reducing Superman into a sort of intergalactic sperm donor. This picture couldn't have been any worse if it was written by August Strindberg and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Anyway, Ottman sensibly takes Williams' original, classic theme and simply avoids f*cking it up which is more than can be said for his boss.

Until next time, keep on twangin'

Jules Jackson (read more about this writer)