Wanda Jackson!

There are pluses and minuses to living in any city, right? In the plus column for New York, I would put (1) righteous pizza sold by the slice, (2) lucrative busking opportunities, (3) the subway and (4) live "Kuntry Karaoke" at Hank's. In the minus column are (1) parking, (2) snow turning from white to black in a day, (3) parking, (4) parking tickets [grumble grumble]. Nashville's minus column involves (1) NO good Thai food [wtf?], (2) lack of bagels, (3) exorbitant admission price at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. N-ville's plus column includes (1) a full-scale replica of the Parthenon (2) honky-tonk dancing at Robert's and (3) 650 AM, WSM.

At the top of today's local plus column, though, is the fact that Wanda Jackson gave the best show of all time right here in Music City last night. That's right folks, I heard WANDA JACKSON play a few hours ago. The concert was at this little dive bar in East Nashville (which was thankfully smoke-free for the evening). The place was crammed with 20- and 30-somethings dressed in 50s attire (plus a few unfashionable schmucks like me and Jesse). We all gathered around the stage and sang along to "I Gotta Know," "Fujiyama Mama," "Mean Mean Man" and about 15 other hits. Unfortunately she didn't sing "The Box." Sigh. But I did give her a copy of "Bang!" which has our version on it. I'd say there's about a 50% chance that she'll listen to it...

Here are some shots of the evening from the Nashville Scene (taken by Steve Cross-- I forgot my camera)

Sweet guitar, eh?

Yeah, so I'm pretty much content now. Thanks, Wanda.

-Emily

Rising From the Dead

Hey Y'all...

After several months of patient waiting Brooklyn/Nashville/Philly communication lines have begun to crackle with news of upcoming Sweetback activity. Rumours suggest that shows in March will be scheduled for the "Big Apple" and the "Big E" (Elkins, WV, for those who must ask) as well as the "Jewel of the Kanawah," Charleston, WV.

Some experts predict that CD's of "Chicken Ain't Chicken" will be publicly traded before the first day of summer, while analytical philosophers argue that, chicken IS chicken, and empirical claims to the contrary have not been subjected to a rigorous peer-review process. Non-dualists found them selves in an uneasy alliance with Aristotelians on the issue saying "in some ways yes, and in some ways no."

Reached for comment, Sweetback associate Jesse Milnes was tight-lipped, replying to questions with an obscene riddle "Guess what? Chicken b**t."

Veteran band watchers think that the philosophical argument is a distraction and they should focus on getting back on the road, "playing some gigs, selling some records and you know man, just doing what they do."

Whatever happens next you'll read it here first.

- Rosin Jaw
& The Sweetback Sisters

Nothin’ Says Country…

Quite Like...



We've gotta get some of these for the boys...

Quote of The Day…

"I think we're the only honky-tonk band that listens to Bartók string quartets while talking about Snoop Dogg at the breakfast table."

- Joe

Bass Blog

root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5. root. 5.

hostage

oh. my. god.

i'm being forced to write something about our recording session. zara is poking me in the back yelling "faster!" and "funnier!" and i'm doing the best i can against my will. i have to come up with a creative way to tell everyone how awesome and fun our recording venture has been going so far. and guess what folks?!? it has been awesome and fun!

i met up with zara and stefan in new york on friday night to drive up to emmy's beautiful house in marlboro, vermont, where we all are staying for the week. it is a beautiful, large window house in the middle of the woods, and with the recent few feet of snowfall, it looks like we're surrounded by a giant white ant farm. the fridge is stocked and we're settling in nicely.

after meeting up with emmy, jesse, joe and our wonderful producer, the esteemed eric merrill, we have spent a weekend of solid, rather exhausting rehearsing and fabulous dinner consumption due to the culinary stylings of chef zara bode. as of this evening, we just finished cutting our first track, "cannonball," at northern track studios, led by the fabulous engineering skills of gary henry.

so far, so good.

Where Have All The Cowgirls Gone?

"Gone Like the blowin' wind, gone like that fifth of gin, you drank before you stumbled in and passed out on my floor..."
(Milnes/You're Gone Again)

Fear not Sweetback lovers we are still here! This is a long awaited entry to tell you so! The fall brought wonderful changes to everyone in the band, so we decided to take a little break to focus on our extra-marital affairs. The horizon has a plethora of Sweetback events in-store, but we're only slowly breaking ground. So we must all sit tight and wait for the magic to happen. New web/product designs are in the works for a whole new look for the Sweets and we're booking shows here and there for the next few months, but are focusing on spots for a late summer '08 tour to promote our long awaited full length CD! WA-HOO!

So keep your britches buttoned, and we'll be sure to keep you in "the know."

Sassparilla Kisses.

Zara

p.s. in the next week or so we will be adding some back-logged blogs to fill in the gaps from the last few months. So scroll down and see if you missed anything!

SPAM SPAM SPAM

Howdy All.

I've heard from many of you recently how it stinks that you can't post a comment without signing in. I sincerely do apologize, but as the moderator of this blog you would not believe the amount of SPAM we receive daily if those little guards aren't put up. We love hearing from you so please follow through! Just don't offer The Sweetback Sisters: pills, webcams, Cameron Diaz, or to invest in your multi-million dollar Nigerian animal shelter. We would however love a "Hello!" or to hear about that amazing song you heard on the juke-box last night.

Tasty.

Sweet Blogger’s Review

Howdy All!

Hope everyone had a wonderful summer, and fall is lookin' good as well. The Sweetback gang are settling back into their respective swinging of things. Stefan and I are back in Ohio, as Stefan attends his last semester at Oberlin Conservatory, Ross is starting full-time as a music teacher in Philadelphia, Jesse is back with Bob Smakula fixin' up WV's stringed instruments, Joe is out and about as always with The Wiyos, and Emily is in Nashville of all places starting up grad school at Vanderbuilt. Quite an exciting time for all.

Dont worry we haven't given up on performances, we are looking into a few weekend gigs during the next few months just to keep the Sweetback ball rollin', and rumor has it we'll also be recording an album sometime in the next few months. Just need to work out logistics, and find a producer. Keep your fingers crossed.

If yer hankerin' for some honky-tonk to hold you over check out our myspace page for a few new live tracks from our last tour! SWEETSPACE/MYSPACE

Oh and once your done with that check this sweet review:  SWEET

Keep in touch, and so will we!

Zara

One Red Paperclip

After a long drive back to the city from Thomas, WV with Stefan, Joe, and Ross. I have a few drinks in the 'Slope, a long sleep, and an incredible brunch at Tom's dinner I finally felt settled back in Brooklyn. I took it easy today to say the least and wandered the internet.I came across the stories of ONE RED PAPERCLIP, the incredible bartering adventures of one Kyle MacDonald and how he traded one red paperclip for a house. Pretty amazing.

So, I thought "Hey, The Sweetback Sisters could really use a van..." Don't get me wrong our Subaru & Marquis team is a force to be reckoned with, but really, it's getting more and more expensive to travel with two cars, and we're always separated during our long drives.

So I was thinkin' I might try our own little Sweetback Swap. What do you say anyone who can acquire us a van, will receive all 6 Sweetbacks to perform a private concert for your event. Date will have to be flexible to arrange for all players (feel free to pick your favorite bassist), and we'll arrange some of your favorite country requests!

Our Preferences:

• Vehicle in working condition.


• The quirkier lookin' the better


• Diesel (so we can do a vegetable oil conversion!)


• Big enough to fix 6 people, their luggage, instruments, and the creme-de-la-creme an upright bass.

Maybe we can think of some things to sweeten the deal, I'm sure my pops would be happy to offer some visual or Tattoo Art to the recipient! Feel free to make offers, and I'll keep you posted.

Happy Trails!

LISTEN IN LIVE TONIGHT!

Hooo-Eeee! Sorry for the late-notice but tonight’s Sweetback Sisters' Johnson City, TN show will be broadcasted LIVE at 9PM TONIGHT EST!

Click the link, and press the LISTEN NOW tab.

THE DETOUR
(http://thedetour.us/)

woo-hoo!

The Sweetback & The Male Model

Gimmie Pink...

Alright, gimmie squishy...

Oohhh very nice, now Zoolander...

Spectacular, now ROCK!

That's a wrap boys.

The Sweet Sunny South

8:30 am, Thursday: Jesse, Joe and I left our friend Jill's (of the Grit Pixies) West Asheville (NC) house to drive Joe to the Johnson City (TN) airport. The car thermometer read 85 degrees...at eight in the morning! Suffice it to say that it didn't get any cooler that afternoon. Whew! I think we'll plan the next summer tour for Canada or Alaska (or somewhere else with snow-capped mountains year-round).

We've been having a great time in North Carolina despite the heat, though. The highlight so far was our show in Winston-Salem on Friday night. It was sponsored by the Fiddle and Bow Society (really nice folks...they run folk music concerts and other events year-round) and held at a neat performance /tai chi / workshop studio place called Blessings:

Every surface of the room was painted with interesting murals and there were beautiful plants and antique furniture in every corner. The ceiling was painted dark blue and there were Christmas lights strung up so it felt like playing underneath the stars. To top it all off, the audience was made up of serious early country music lovers who clapped loudly when we sang songs from Hank Williams, Ray Price and Roger Miller. Just my kind of folks.



The other exciting part about the show was that we played with yet another bass player (I think that makes 5 in total). As I mentioned, we had to put Joebass on a plane back to New York for some weekend gigs with the WIYOS so we were searching around desperately for a replacement. After calling just about everyone we knew in western North Carolina, we connected with a fine fellow named Calvin Johnson. He plays in his own honky-tonk band, the Mystery Hillbillies, and was just the best sport about learning an entire concert repertoire in one afternoon. And how! He really nailed it. Thanks, Calvin!

Virginia Flats

There comes a time with every touring band when things go wrong, not terribly wrong, just a little, like wrong turn wrong, like going an hour out of the way wrong, and then the ever popular flat tire wrong.

Luckily a few of our Salty Dogs had it covered, and we made it to Charlottesville, VA's Gravity Lounge without a hitch, though just a tad on the late side.

... Note how Jesse eventually loses interest in the project, and starts playing with the air hose....

good work y'all.

Easy as 1, 2, 3

So we would like to send an apology out to anyone and everyone that may have been looking for The Sweetback Sisters as 1, 2, 3 Pleasant Street last night in Morgantown, WV.  After many many emails and communications and confirmations, we drove up to find it closed. Turns out they were never open on Sundays! Hey, I didn't pick the date...

So we went out for a coffee a few blocks away at The Blue Moose Cafe, and bumped into our co-biller Rachel Eddy and we broke the news. The wheels started turning and we say that The Blue Moose Cafe was a perfect spot for us. So with a bat of the eyes, Greg the owner of the Blue Moose, set-up a curtain and sound system. The night was lovely with a small but attentive audience, and if anything it was some time to rehearse!

Next time Morgantown, we'll get it right, but hey not too shabby for short notice. Thank ya WV, we'll see you soon.

Zara

click the link for a link to lovely cafe:

THE BLUE MOOOOOOOOSE CAFE