The Zac Brown Band rocked the crap out of Charlie Daniels’ classic “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” at this past Wednesday’s (11/11/09) CMA Awards. (video below)

This is one of those songs that will stand the test of time. It is also one of those songs that it is tough to categorize, which I believe is part of why it has, and will, stand the test of time. Some consider it Country, others Rock N Roll, others simply know it from their local Classic Rock radio station, and others put it in the ever-widening category of Southern Rock.

The Charlie Daniels Band originally released “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” in 1979, on the album Million Mile Reflections. Side-note: the title Million Mile Reflections is a reference to the band surpassing one million miles on the road.

Here is the Zac Brown Band’s performance of the song from the 43rd Annual CMA Awards.

In researching for this post, I came across a very interesting music video from a song called “The Devil Came Back To Georgia,” released on the 1993 album, Heroes, by Mark O’Connor. Included in the song and video are: Charlie Daniels, Johnny Cash, Marty Stuart and Travis Tritt.

Last night, the 2009 CMA Awards debuted on television. It was a memorable and incredible night for many country music stars. Outstanding performances were made by country stars including Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, The Eagles, Alan Jackson, Kid Rock, Dave Matthews, Zack Brown Band, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, George Strait, Sugarland, Keith Urban, and The Wailers. My  favoritePerformer that evening was Taylor Swift. Taylor sung two songs that evening Fifteen and Forever and Always; named female vocalist of the year! I watched the entire award show and I was very pleased and agreed with the awards that were given.

June 29, 2009

I taught this class on Faust a few years ago, and it was fun.  We read Goethe’s Faust and Kit Marlowe’s Faust and then we came over to the United States, and we read, “The Devil and Daniel Webster” and listened to “The Devil Went down to Georgia,” and what was cool was this.  In the European stories, the devil was scary and big and dark and powerful.  But in the American story and the American song, the Americans were feisty and smart and they were able to outsmart the devil.  What’s weird about this is that Americans are actually so paranoid about sexuality, nudity, Satanism, everything.  A completely hung up country.  But we have stories and songs that make it sound like we have chutzpah.  I like our energy, I think it’s fun, there’s a youthful optimism about Americans, underneath all that grim guilt. 

 Here in the U.S., the money says, “In God we trust,” but in the song, the devil loses.  He loses the soul and his fiddle of gold.  Johnny gets it all.  Such a deal.  Such an American deal.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FRtkek-Et4

            It’s been said “if you want to learn what a nation is like, don’t learn its language, listen to its music.”

            Music affects us like little else.  A simple song can make you smile, cry, worship, laugh, regret, want to sing along, or take you back to another time and place.  There is something soothing and healing, inspiring and invading about music.  Verse and tune move us.

            Aldous Huxley said, “After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”  As Nietzsche put it, “Without music, life would be a mistake.”

            Whether a lyric, a poem, a tune, or a chorus, music defines and expresses, at least in part, who we were, who we are, who we hope to become.  Certain music forms the background and soundtrack for your life.

            We sing in the shower, we hum at the office, we listen to the radio while in the car, we put together play lists on our IPod, we play background music at dinner parties.

            There are songs that have so shaped who we’ve become that we know them by heart, word-for-word, verse-for-verse.

            When I was sixteen, I decided to take a year off from playing baseball but still found myself at Thaxton Fields in Hixson, Tennessee every night of the summer because my brother decided not to take a year off from playing baseball.  Having gotten my driver’s license a few months earlier, I would often drive my 1964 Ford truck to the ballpark even though my parents drove as well.

            But there was a method to my madness.  Aside from the fact that gasoline was cheap and we weren’t worried about becoming green in 1980, every night at 9:00pm sharp KZ106 would play what they called “The Six-Pack,” the six most requested songs of the day.

            The same song, my favorite song, was the number one song every night the summer of 1980 – The Devil went Down to Georgia by the Charlie Daniel’s Band.  That summer and that song marked me for life.  Music moves us.

            Just like we have favorite songs, throughout the Old Testament the nation of Israel had favorite songs which they sang on specific occasions.  These songs were called psalms.  The Book of Psalms contains some of God’s greatest hits; an eclectic blend of song, poetry, and prayer.

            For many people the Psalms are the most widely read part of their Bible.  The shortest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 117 while the longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119.

            However, things really get interesting when we learn that the exact middle chapter in the Bible is Psalm 118.  Minus Psalm 118, there are exactly 1,188 chapters in the Bible and the exact middle verse of the Bible is Psalm 118:8, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.”

            While we no longer know the tunes, the lyrics of the Psalms are profound.  When we engage with them, they can draw us closer to God, helping us learn to trust, obey, and get to know our heavenly Father in ways few other things can.

            I hope this week you will spend some time with God’s greatest hits and permit them to move you as only song and verse can.

I saw a billboard yesterday along I-24 in Kentucky promoting an upcoming Josh Turner concert, with The Charlie Daniels Band as the supporting/opening act.

I’m a Josh Turner fan; I really am. We share an alma mater. This post has nothing to do with Josh Turner and his obvious talent and success in the music world.

What it does have to do with is taking a look at the (painful) difference between music as a business, and (someone’s) very important musical legacy.

Let’s be honest. Do you really think that Josh Turner feels justified in having Charlie Daniels open for him? To be clear, that means The Charlie Daniels Band plays first, then Josh Turner is the headliner. I get it – Josh Turner is a “hot” artist right now. He’s being played more by Country radio (currently) than Charlie Daniels is. He has multiple hits, “Your Man,” “Would You Go With Me,” etc., that translate to Turner being the “current” artist with the “current” success.

Again, this is not a slam on Turner. I’m looking at a bigger issue that (should) bother (or at least occur to) a lot of us.

Charlie Daniels is unequivocally a living music legend. In my opinion, he could have only written “The Devil Went Down To Georgia,” and still be a music legend.

From his bio, here are a few career highlights:

-Resume includes recording sessions with: Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Leonard Cohen, Flatt & Scruggs, Pete Seeger

-His songs have been recorded by Elvis Presley and Tammy Wynette

-”The Devil Went Down To Georgia” was a platinum single, topped both the country and pop charts (specific charts not stated), won a Grammy Award and earned three Country Music Association awards

-Charlie started the Volunteer Jam, and artists that have performed at this annual event through the years include: Little Richard, Don Henley, Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Allman Brothers, Roy Acuff, Billy Joel, Steppenwolf, B.B. King, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, James Brown, among many others 

Maybe Charlie hasn’t had a big radio hit in a while. Maybe his “face” isn’t appealing to our wonderful media culture. Maybe his politics don’t line up with your’s. 

I’m just struggling with the legend opening the show.

It’s Thursday right?  It’s so cold I can hardly tell anymore.  Our calendar has frozen over into an icy (but delicious) blob and the only hope for thawing it out is that the Devil might burp on it.  What?  I don’t know.  It’s that cold.  At any rate, we have come to the dilemma that is the letter X today.  Obviously, it’s not a letter bands exactly rush to when coming up with their name.  Now, I know there’s the seminal punk band X but that’s a bit too easy, isn’t it?  And I’ve never been a big fan of their’s in the first place, so I looked elsewhere.  What follows may be the weirdest combo I’ve ever posted…

Let’s start in Japan.  This band was actually called X themselves until they realized that there might be some confusion if they happened to sell some records in the U.S.  And seeing as they’re from Japan, they creatively altered their name in the early nineties to the stunning and entirely unique X Japan.  Honestly, they might as well have called themselves HEY! WE’RE NOT PUTTING ANY EFFORT INTO OUR NEW NAME BUT JUST SO YOU KNOW WE ARE FROM JAPAN! Or use an asterisk or parenthesis or something.  X Japan??? Maybe it sounds better in…no, forget that. I’m sure it doesn’t.  Anyway, their Wiki page tells me they were a pseudo power metal band with big hair who put an emphasis on ballads.  So, in other words you know this is going to be awesome.  And I think you’ll find this performance of the song “Tears” (which you can purchase here) does not disappoint:

Laugh all you want.  Those dudes had three number one records in Japan.  You probably can’t even use chopsticks… Moving on and at the complete opposite end of the spectrum of light and darkness (mostly darkness) is Xasthur.  I may hate the name X Japan, but I’m quite fond of the word Xasthur for some reason.  Difficult to pronounce, difficult to spell, what more could a band ask for in a name? What does it mean, you may ask? Well, I’m not the man to explain it.  In fact, I don’t even really feel comfortable describing this one man band because if you’ve ever done any sort of internet trolling around discussions of black metal you will learn that there is only one constant about the genre:  people love to tell you that you don’t know what it really is.  So let me be clear about that to any Xasthur/BM fans out there who may be reading this.  I’m not saying Xasthur is “true” black metal.  And I’m not Xasthur it isn’t.  I know jack squat about the genre, pagans, atheism, Anton LaVey, or even “The Devil Went Down To Georgia.”  You are correct on all accounts and I am wrong on more accounts than I even realize.  Please don’t hurt me.  Just listen to “May Your Void Become as Deep as My Hate” from 2004’s Telepathic With the Deceased (God, those are great titles!):

Okay, so I actually like the repetitiveness of that song and I dig how buried the drums are in the track.  Certainly creates a mood, which is obviously intentional.  But really – how can you possibly decipher what’s being said?  Is it just a matter of having to listen to it again and again or do you cheat and look at the lyrics sheet?  I’m not unfamiliar with guttural voices and I definitely think the more you listen to that style the less is sounds like noise and the more it sounds like nuance, but Xasthur seems like a real challenge in that department.  Just curious.

Rounding out the triumvirate today is some good old mainstream American hip hop.  Truthfully I don’t much care for this style of music, and I’ll echo criticism that I’ve read elsewhere just for a sec.  It’s a simple question to give you something to think about on a cold day: Who are the Rolling Stones of Hip-Hop? Hmm? I’m not even talking about an artistic comparison.  I’m talking about a longevity one.  Who’s in it for the longhaul?  See, hip hop to me seems like it’s something a lot of musicians do currently with a “get in and get out” kind of attitude and I can’t help but imagine that limites the impact of the art.  You get in, you make some money and get yourself noticed, and then you use that celebrity to do something else – start a clothing line, act in movies and TV, run a record label, produce, design shoes or jewelry, etc.  Not that musicians in other genres haven’t been doing the very same thing in equal or greater numbers, but again I ask: who’s the hip hop artist who will still be playing shows and putting out records in their sixties?  I don’t know.  Will it be Xzibit?  I kind of doubt it, but hey – he starts with an X.  Here’s “Get Your Walk On” from 2000’s Restless and please note that unlike Xasthur you can understand what Xzibit is saying and much of it is wrapped in profanity, if you’re around sensitive ears:

Am I unfairly harsh on hip-hop? Probably. I’ll try to keep the door open.  More tomorrow…

I just posted on my Facebook wall these 25 Things About Me:

1. I filmed part of a movie I made in high school from the back seat of a 1973 Dodge Challenger going 140 mph down Hwy 27.

2. I love coffee, Krispy Kremes, Krystals, and dark chocolate.

3. I am shy.

4. I would like to live somewhere there is snow on the ground for six months and the other six months in the Caribbean.

5. I should have been a teenager in the ‘50s instead of the ‘70s but I’m thankful I was a teenager in the ‘70s instead of the ‘80s.

6. A film I made my senior year in high school won first place at a South Carolina Film Festival. Not the drag racing one (see #1).

7. I have over 1,000 autographs.

8. I collect, restore, and use vintage fountain pens.

9. I always wanted to be an architect and a photographer.

10. I have over 40 pelicans in my office.

11. I love anything by Jimmy Buffett, Sarah McLachlan, and Diana Krall.

12. I am currently building a 1/400 scale model of the Piarco International Airport in Trinidad, West Indies, home to the former British West Indies Airline.

13. Boeing 314 seaplanes are the coolest transport on the planet…and Corvettes…and Saturn V rockets.

14. I enjoy reading more than just about anything.

15. The next person I confirm as a “Friend” on Facebook will be #100.

16. My blog, which I started on October 24, will have 5,000 hits by Friday.

17. I know all the words to Hot Rod Lincoln and The Devil Went Down to Georgia and dozens of other slightly weird and interesting songs.

18. I really believe the local church is the hope of the world.

19. New Community Church is going to reach 1,010 people within 3 years!

20. I still miss most of the people who have left New Community over the years.

21. My Mom and Jimmy Buffett were both born on Christmas Day.

22. I write poetry, keep journals, and doodle.

23. I’ve owned 17 vehicles – 8 cars (2 sports cars), 7 trucks, 1 minivan, 1 SUV. The first was a 1964 Ford pickup and the most recent is a 2004 Dodge Ram pickup. 2 of the 17 were ‘60s models, 3 were ‘70s models, 6 were ‘80s models, 4 were ‘90s models and 2 were ‘00s models. Favorites – 1975 Corvette and 1983 Mazda RX-7. I’ve never owned a hot rod…one day!

24. I love to work more than anything except read.

25. “I spent the night with Michelle Pfeiffer.”

26. I could easily list another 25 things that are weirder than these.

This morning, as I was waking up, suddenly I was inspired– or actually maybe uninspired, since the meaning of inspiration refers to the divine. It doesn’t happen often: being inspired on my own. Usually, as I mentioned yesterday, I steal from other people, but this morning I actually came up with this one on my own.

So for today’s Flashback Friday, in honor of Halloween, I bring you the Devil himself (notice, no capitalization on “himself,” for Christians, that’s reserved for God Himself, but Devil, that’s okay to be capitalized) and his music.

I grew up in what many would consider a fundamentalist Christian home, meaning that I listened to Christian rock music (which I know might seem like an oxymoron to some of you, especially those of you who are fundamentalist Christians) and wasn’t allowed to listen to the “devil’s music.”

Now to country and western (not this new-fangled country mix of country, pop– no western– and rock), I was allowed to listen. Ironically, that is where I believe I was first exposed to the Devil– at least, directly, in the lyrics (my mom probably thought I and the rest of the country were exposed to him– notice, lower case “h”– through this seemingly innocuous but deceptively evil singer with his inviting lyrics):

Later in elementary school, a friend who lived in New Hampshire, the vortex of all that is evil (or so I’ve heard, well, very close at least in almost pure– talk about oxymoron– unadulterated evil percentage-wise to Delaware [1])), introduced me to this band:

and we all know what those letters mean:

Kids (how I first heard it) or Knights
In
Satan’s
Service

Never mind, that they weren’t kids, but I guess is that they were trying to spawn a nation of kids for Satan’s service. But I mean, really, look at that guy in that video (above) spewing blood. I mean, that is what their name had to mean, right? Wrong. Nevertheless, I even heard that Gene Simmons killed a puppy with his steel-heeled boots at a concert in Jersey– and since have learned that there were rumors he had a cow’s tongue grafted onto his own.

Later, of course, I learned that they couldn’t be that bad because after all, they sang about God and heaven!

In high school (notice, it was school where I was schooled in the ways of the Evil One), I was well on my way on the…

Hell’s Bells! If there ever was a personification of evil in the form of one band– let alone Angus Young with the seizures he’s experienced on stage, this was it. I mean, you could even call them at 36 24 36 hey to perform your dirty deeds.

Finally, in college, I came full circle musically when I went real old school and went back to the year of my birth when Evil reared its ugly head at a place called Altamont:

Post-college, I just became a devil without a cause…

…and, like the rest of the World (capital W), since have been seeking out my own Personal Jesus.

________________________________________________________

[1] I think this alone shows that our country wasn’t founded by God, as some claim, with Delaware being the First State. I know my wife would agree.

If you want to be given black sensations up and down your spine and you’re into humor, then click Humor-Blogs.com (as always the most important link on the page). or for gits and shiggles, try this one: Humor-Blogs.com.

Ryman Auditorium

Originally posted at Edible TV on September 9, 2008.

As a former resident of Nashville I thoroughly enjoyed the recent Dinner: Impossible where Chef Michael Symon had to cook a meal for Country/Southern Rock legend Charlie Daniels. Symon’s first stop was the immortal Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville where he met Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen (he was Nashville’s mayor during my days in Music City).

For those who did not grow up with the Grand Ole Opry playing a major part of their childhood then the sheer weight of standing in the Ryman will likely be lost. For most of the 20^th Century the Ryman was the home of the Opry and many a star has graced this hallowed stage like Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams (the first one), comedians Jerry Clower and Minnie Pearl, and long time host Roy Acuff. The front lobby of the auditorium includes a simple park bench with the bronze figures of Acuff and Pearl as they share of laugh. My first visit and consequent view of this site sent chills up my spine. For a Southerner, this place is the Eiffel Tower and Stonehenge rolled into one.

From there Symon made the 45 minute drive out to the new home of the Grand Old Opry, the aptly named Grand Old Opry House at the Opryland Resort. The Opryland Resort is the largest hotel in the world not located in the city of Las Vegas. Symon is given the keys to the groceries found within the hotel’s many gourmet restaurants. A favorite spot of mine when I lived in Nashvegas was the Cascades in the Atrium of the main hotel. Oddly enough the executive chef at the time is now a fellow chef here in the Mobile area, Mike Wallace of the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort in Point Clear, Alabama.

When the challenge was issued of cooking dinner for 300 country music fans (well 301 if you count Daniels) in eight hours with the full Opryland Resort (it also houses a culinary school) at his disposal it seemed like a gimme. But Symon and his team were thrown a series of road blocks. They had to theme their menu around the CDB classic The Devil Went Down To Georgia. The only food item mentioned in the song was chicken. The only chicken in the hotel was boneless, skinless breast meat. Symon’s pride in his art left him no choice but to scratch the inferior product from the menu.

Another obstacle for Symon and crew was that the chef himself was required to join country music newcomer James Otto on stage at the Grand Ole Opry. Again memories of my time in Nashville came rushing back as Symon (donning a Porter Wagoner approved glitzy rodeo shirt) strolled onto a stage far different than the one he is used to in Kitchen Stadium. And far more intimidating as well. I, too, have stood on that stage in front of that crowd and faced the decades of tradition that surround it. My result? A standing ovation – one of the proudest moments of my life.  Symon also found the folks of Middle Tennessee cordial and gracious. They would later find his food remarkable.

In fact, they would demand his culinary creations be delivered in less than the alloted eight hours. That of course was the last of the encumbrances to Symon and his crew. But as usual the Iron Chef came through with a stunning menu that pleased all if not totally overwhelmed them, even Charlie.

Photo Courtesy of Preferred-Seats.com.

Si us plau!, és taaaaan bonic!

Primus és una banda nord-americana de rock, van néixer a finals dels anys vuitanta i se’ls considera indies tot i que també diuen els que en saben que la seva música es situa a cavall de l’experimental i la fusió.

La cançó: The Devil went down to Georgia és una cançó original dels Charlie Daniels Band, un grup de folklore yankie total tipus country que no té desperdici. Jo personalment em quedo amb la versió de Primus, però la lletra original és dels Charlie, és una d’aquestes cançons populars que es canta als nens petits, esperant que aprenguin alguna cosa del que es diu, bàsicament de moral cristiana per a no caure en la temptació del diable… però és molt divertit!

Anyway… us deixo amb el videoclip de la versió de Primus, una autèntica monada audiovisual!

Atenció a les gallines, per favor!

Well this story is making it’s rounds about the NET.    To Quote NME.com

Charlie Daniels, writer of the song ‘The Devil Went Down To Georgia’, has slammed the makers of ‘Guitar Hero III’ after the song was used in the game.

He has publicly stated that he would have refused permission for the song to be used if he had the power, claiming that the “very essence” of the song had been “violated”.

Daniels, who wrote the song in 1979 while a member of The Charlie Daniels Band, lost the rights to the song in a past settlement.

He explained on his blog: “The song, ‘The Devil Went Down To Georgia’, which I wrote, is supposed to be a lighthearted novelty about a fiddling contest between a country boy and the devil and the devil always loses.

“I would never grant permission for some company to create a video game version of a song I wrote in which the devil wins a contest.”

Expressing his upset at the devil character who challenges players in
the game, he added: “I’m sorely disappointed with the company who owns the copyright for not policing the situation. As it is they have allowed these people to violate the very essence of the song.

“At this time I don’t know if I have any legal recourse, probably not, but I wanted you folks to know that I vehemently disagree with what has been done to a piece of my work.

“And I would like to pass along a little advice to parents of young children. This game looks innocent enough but if you have a child who is playing it, take the time to sit with him or her while they’re playing along and take a serious look at the images on the screen.”

‘The Devil Went Down To Georgia’ was Daniels’ biggest hit, charting at Number Three in the US singles chart.

It has since been covered by the likes of Primus, The Levellers and Jerry Reed, and Rednex.

The song has had an impact outside of the world of music, too, with comedian Jim Davidson performing it as part of a comedy tour in 2002 and WWE wrestler The Rock singing it on US TV in 2003.

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My Vue?   Even though I know it really doesn’t mean anything, but so what?  I mean really.. He doesn’t even own the song.  What this sounds like to ‘The PogoWolf’ is that Daniels is using the media of GH3 in order to say ‘Hey!!  I’m still alive and making music!’  along with a publicist saying ‘You don’t want to be blamed if some Kid finds out how to out play Satan, you better say something now’   and why are you talking about it NOW?  It was released in the US in October of ‘07  It’s now April of ‘08.  6 months to figure out about the song!?  LOL  Beyond that the the ‘devil’ really isn’t ‘Satan’, in a personification of your ‘evil’ manager.   Bah.. total fluff news.. but as you all can see, I’ve been a slacker for a few days.

Team Carrie Anne did The Devil Went Down to GA, Charlie Daniels Band; it was interesting, harmony with a spoken song.  I enjoyed it, but it was really the only one I saw!  They later did Black Horse and The Cherry Tree by KT Tunstall, which I think i liked, what little I saw.

Team Bruno did Life is a Highway, the remake by Rascal Flatts, which looked cute and fun, and These Boots Are Made for Walkin’, the Jessica Simpson version (ugh, hate that version), which was cute and really featured Kelsey.

The videos I have been posting on here come from a GREAT YouTube-er – Dance4Fun22.  Take a look at the page for the videos!

Team Bruno lost AGAIN from last week, so they had elimination.  Kelsey was picked first, to her great relief, and it came down to Zach (noooooo!!) and Tony.  Thankfully, Bruno picked Zach, after the two sang one of my fav. country songs, If Tomorrow Never Comes, by Garth Brooks.  Yay!! Zach stays on another week!!!  Hard to tell who will lose for last night’s competition, stay tuned!

You might know Paul Dinello as co-creator and co-star of Comedy Central’s short-lived series Strangers With Candy (he also wrote for the show). Of course you also know Stephen Colbert, most likely for his work on The Dana Carvey Show. However, I gained a deeper appreciation for these men by watching them (on Youtube) give a performance for the ages at the last Stella comedy show back in 2005. Their versatility blew my mind…see for yourself.

The Zac Brown Band tore it up at the CMA’s tonight.  I generally don’t approve of people covering this song, but this was amazing.  I saw Charlie Daniels sing this once and by the end of the song his bow was completely torn up.  I remember thinking “Wow, nobody is ever going to come close to this.”  My mind has been changed.  I LOVE to see talented, young, musicians just kicking ass.  I didn’t even mind that the singing the fiddle playing were done by different people…..

You know you’ve done a good job at the CMA’s when you get a standing ovation and in the pan of the crowd you see Kris Kristofferson beaming.* 

Year’s ago, Jason used to see Zac Brown play at a bar he frequented.  I remember him coming home all the time  saying “Wow, that guy is going to make it big someday.”  At the end of this performance, Jason looked at me and said “Wow, I’m sort of bursting with pride right now.”

*How weird is it that I’ve mentioned Kris Kristofferson twice in the last week??