Here’s the deal. They’re playing another show in Dallas at the fantastic Granada Theater. You may remember I saw them about a year ago and enjoyed it thoroughly. Be the first to email me before 5pm today (kelly@thegobblersknob.com,) with SLOBBERBONE in the subject line, to win a pair of tix to the show tomorrow night in Dallas, courtesy of our good friends at The Granada Theater (where there are some insane shows lined up!).

I try to give you folks a nicely mixed bag of sounds on here (even if I do tend to lean heavily towards the country/folk/americana realm). With that said, I am truly excited about the new release from the legendary Tom Petty. Mojo will be out on June 15th. This album has Petty jamming with his band, the equally legendary Heartbreakers, and the fact is, they can still bring it.

It was in 1995 when I caught Petty (with the Jayhawks opening) for one of my very first big-time rock shows. His Wildflowers album, and even their greatest hits collection, were riding high (pun intended) on the charts and hopefully, the new one will as well. What I have heard so far is pretty sweet and shows that Petty, Campbell, Tench and the rest of the gang haven’t seen fit to slow down or become complacent with just being aging rockers.

Jim Heath brings his legendary psychobilly band to Dallas this Saturday might, Jan. 23, for what is sure to be a raucous homecoming for the Rev. When The Reverend Horton Heat has played this venue in the past, it has been packed and it has been one of those shows that people brag about being at afterwards. I should know, I have had to be the one to hear such comments and not the one having the fun myself, until this weekend, that is.

I have TWO PAIRS of tickets to give to first two folks to email me (kelly@thegobblersknob.com) with “The Reverend Comes Home“ in the subject line and you will be added to the guest list. Courtesy of the fine folks at The Granada Theater.

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This week I am highlighting some new and upcoming releases that are exclusively out of my home-state. I know I mention bands that call the Lone Star State home relatively often, but this week I am making it a point to really be obnoxious about it…

This week I have been highlighting all kinds of good stuff from Texas. I can’t think of a better way to end this week than to spread the news on a new release from none other than the Texas Tornados. You will be hard pressed to come up with a band that is more representative of what many consider to be true “Texas Music”.

Esta Bueno (Bismeaux Records), the superb new album from the ultimate Tex-Mex super group, will thankfully come out in March. While Sir Doug has gone on to the great honky-tonk in the sky, he left us with his son Shawn, who ably fills in and carries the torch well. There is even a song that the father-son combo co-wrote (“Who’s To Blame Senorita”) that features the classic sound that is synonymous with the Tornados. Augie Meyers and Flaco Jimenez are back to recreate their legendary fusion of rock, tejano and country, and so is the dearly departed Freddy Fender, by way of 5 unreleased tracks that see the light of day here, finally. Amen.

LISTEN: The Texas Tornados – “Who’s To Blame Senorita”

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This week I am highlighting some new and upcoming releases that are exclusively out of my home-state. I know I mention bands that call the Lone Star State home relatively often, but this week I am making it a point to really be obnoxious about it…

 Ray Wylie Hubbard (Official / Myspace) is basically a legend ’round these parts. I am not breaking new ground by letting you know that this bluesy, grizzled veteran is a hero to many younger artists. His new CD, A, Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint: There is No C) showcases the reasons why he is so revered by the new generation of Texas song-smiths. While certain upstarts like Hayes Carll have worked with Hubbard and perhaps become more well-known nationally (maybe), I will say that Hubbard’s more rocking, moody version of the song he co-wrote with Carll, “Drunken Poet’s Dream” is the version I prefer over Carll’s.

Besides having possibly the oddest title of the year, the new record is a tight collection of sparsely produced gems. The album possesses serious doses of Gothic country (“Down Home Country Blues”), dirty blues (“Wasp’s Nest”) and soul-scorching gospel (“Whoop & Holler”). With nearly a dozen studio albums to his credit over many years, Hubbard refuses to take the easy, direct path lyrically. The title track is an ominous, brimstone filled tribute to Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven. Basically, Ray Wylie Hubbard is rightfully the artist so many hope to be when they grow up.

LISTEN: Ray Wylie Hubbard – “A. Enlightenment, B. Endarkenment (Hint: There is no C)”

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