First of all, let me freely admit that I am a long standing huge fan of Hayes Carll. I was out pushing him on everyone just after his initial Flowers & Liquor way back in June 2002. Thinking about that being so long ago astounds me that it has taken so long for everyone else to catch up. Voted Americana Music’s Best New Emerging Artist in 2010 was a true head scratcher. Don’t get me wrong, he deserves the praise, but the guy has stood atop the charts for the past 2-3 years!!!  So, with that said, I decided to take a novel approach at reviewing his new release, KMAG YOYO, which hit the streets February 15^th. I wanted to take a step back, and see what others may have written about his release, since I already knew what my thoughts would be.  So, I selected the first four reviews which came up under Google search, printed them out, and analyzed each one. The first was written by Blake Boldt for the9513.com. Blake uses the terms “smart-aleck nature” along with “tender sarcasm” to illustrate a picture of Hayes’ writing prowess. While these terms are certainly earned, I feel they only scratch the surface of what Hayes accomplishes. He learned his trade from the best of Texas, and honed his own methods into an uncanny ability to relate with the listener. His ability to draw the listener into his music is what truly sets him apart. Beginning with his original release in 2002, and certainly the new songs on KMAG, Hayes can paint a familiar picture or feeling for the listener, taking them on a musical journey along with him.  Next, Dustin Ogdin contributes a review posted at No Depression. Dustin enjoys using words many fans, including myself, have trouble defining. His statement “While Carll may not be the Godfather of country soul, his fourth album certainly solidifies that he’s a made man in the honky-tonk cabal.” Not sure when I last seen the word cabal used. He also compares Carll to Charles Bukowski by saying “Carll is a sort of Charles Bukowski in the age of anti-depressants”. Bukowski is a poet, which certainly describes Carll as well, although as Hayes freely admits in Hard Out Here on the new release, he is not a poet but just a drunk with a pen. Ogdin writes a positive review boasting of Carll’s consistent ability to create good music, but many of Hayes’ fans may have skimmed over the review after hitting the dictionary wall.  Moving on, the next review was posted to thehurstreview by Josh Hurst. This is a another positive review, using the terms sensational and stellar to support his claim. Josh actually does a very good job, taking us through each song and reflecting on the stories behind them.  Finally, we have the review posted by Tim Basham for Paste Magazine. Tim opens by making a strong declaration, stating this is Hayes’ best album yet. While I admit it is certainly outstanding record, saying it is his “best” is like saying that Halle Barry is better looking than Kate Beckinsale. They are each amazing, why pick between the two? Where Basham loses me, however, is when he states “With alt-country lyrics that are more Tom Waits than Guy Clark, Hayes Carll continues to impress, giving us more to think about than just honky tonks and heartaches”. Huh? Again, why should we attempt to make a comparison at all? To me, it has always been obvious Hayes has learned from many outstanding artists before him, and still continues to hone his own talents today. He is a melding of many, which is what sets him apart from many others. Hayes has created his own unique style.  So, what have I learned by looking through these other reviews? First of all, everyone is impressed with KMAG YOYO, one even going so far as to state it is his best to date. Bold statement indeed. It seems that much like the general public, some are only just beginning to scratch the surface on his talents. With so much music out there today, one would think a unique talent such as Hayes would stand out. As one reviewer did mention, however, Hayes is not blessed with a pitch perfect vocal prowess, nor can he be pigeon-holed into a particular genre.  He overcomes the vocals with a passion which is missing from 90% of other music today. Passion is what drives music, not a pitch perfect mic or machine. The genre issue is nonsense. If we only allow the music to speak for itself, someone may actually listen and enjoy it.  KMAG YOYO stands on its own as a great record. There truly are no misses on this one, with each compelling song well worth listening to again and again. I think that Hayes may secretly snicker at some of the comparisons thrown his way. I am sure a few are so far off base, he can only shake his head. What I have never understood is the necessity to compare, as if that is the only way we can judge if it is good music or not. Well, every once in a while, an artist steps up and stands alone with his own artistic ability. That is Hayes Carll.  So, go buy KMAG YOYO, open your mind and ears and allow the music to flow. With guest artists such as Curb Lund, Todd Snider, and a duet with Cary Ann Hearst, this one is so entertaining, you may find yourself getting excited. KMAG YOYO = Kiss My Ass Guys, You’re On Your Own. TITLE CUT: 05 KMAG YOYO

The Americana Music Award Nominees were released today, and read by none other than Emmy Lou Harris and Todd Snider this morning at the W.O. Smith School of Music. Leading the way in this talented group of nominees for 2010 are Dave Rawlings, who is nominated in 4 of the 6 named categories, along with Oscar winner Ryan Bingham in 3 categories. Hayes Carll and Ray Wylie Hubbard are also nominated in more than one category as well. When I first studied this list, several questions came to mind. First of all, since when is Hayes Carll, Ryan Bingham, and Corb Lund considered “New & Emerging Artists?” While each is well deserving of any award nomination they may achieve, their presence on the Americana music scene is anything but new and emerging. They are the virtual cream of the crop! Secondly, I find it interesting that the Hayes Carll/Ray Wylie Hubbard song “Drunken Poets Dream” is up for Song of the Year. After all, Hayes released this song on his own record, plus won Song of the Year in 2008 for “She Left Me For Jesus” from that same record. Guess that speaks volumes for Hayes and his “Trouble In Mind” record. The omission of a few great artists irritates me as well. Scott Miller, Jason Eady, and Malcomb Holcomb each released material deserving award recognition. If the New & Emerging Artist category is any reflection on where the selection process is now, perhaps we will see these three in the category in a few years. It seems the selection committee is playing a bit of catch up. The awards show takes place in the midst of the 11th annual Americana Festival and Conference, slated for Sept. 8–11 and based at the Sheraton Nashville Downtown hotel. The festival includes more than 100 music showcases at numerous Nashville venues. Given the choices below…here are my own selections: ALBUM OF THE YEAR – A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment – Ray Wylie Hubbard ARTIST OF THE YEAR – Ryan Bingham DUO GROUP OF THE YEAR – Band of Heathens (this should be a definite IMO) INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR – Dave Rawlings NEW & EMERGING ARTIST – Hayes Carll SONG OF THE YEAR – The Weary Kind – Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

The 2010 Americana Music Association Honors and Awards nominees

ALBUM OF THE YEAR The List, by Rosanne Cash A Friend of a Friend, by Dave Rawlings Machine Downtown Church, by Patty Griffin A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint: There is no C), by Ray Wylie Hubbard ARTIST OF THE YEAR Ryan Bingham Patty Griffin Levon Helm — tie Steve Earle — tie Ray Wylie Hubbard DUO GROUP OF THE YEAR The Avett Brothers Carolina Chocolate Drops Band of Heathens Dave Rawlings Machine INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR Buddy Miller Dave Rawlings Will Kimbrough Sam Bush NEW & EMERGING ARTIST Sarah Jarosz Ryan Bingham Hayes Carll — tie Corb Lund Joe Pug SONG OF THE YEAR “The Weary Kind," written by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett, performed by Ryan Bingham "Drunken Poets Dream," written by Hayes Carll and Ray Wylie Hubbard, performed by Ray Wylie Hubbard "Ruby," written by Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch, performed by Dave Rawlings Machine "I and Love and You," written and performed by The Avett Brothers

Corb Lund is one of those artists who have reached all of the goals put before him. His videos are seen on CMT. You can turn on the dial and hear his songs right along side those of Big and Rich and Kenny Chesney. He was awards an Artist of the Year award and an Album of the Year for his newest release Hair in My Eyes Like a Highland Steer. That album, along with its predecessor, Five Dollar Bill, have both gone Gold, selling over 500,000 copies each. But all of this success has come in his native Canada and doesn't easily transfer to a big career start in the States and even the recognition he has received in the Great White North has been hard won. ԉt's kind of weird, too, ‘cause even up here, I've been doing this for ten or twelve years,ԠLund recounts, ԩt's always sort been an underground, independent release kind of thing, this is the first time that we've really had an sort of industry attention this whole time. I've had a pretty good career for the last number of years, but it's always been real grassroots, kind of under the radar, this is the first time it's really been sort of accepted and recognized by the industry and stuff, so that's interesting.ԍ Perhaps it is out of our own ignorance or shortsightedness to see very far beyond our own borders that many do not even realize that there is a Country music scene in Canada. ԉ don't have that much in common musically with the sort of straight ahead, sort of vanilla, cookie cutter kind of Country stuff, but there's a lot of stuff in Canada that sort of aspires to that. It's kind of weird ‘cause there's a lot of acts in Canada that do this imitation of this Nashville thing that I didn't like even to begin with when it was done by the Nashville people,ԠLund says with a laugh. Ԕhere's a lot of cool stuff in Nashville, but I'm talking about the Mainstream Corporate Country stuff. So there's a lot of that stuff up here, but on the other hand there's a whole underground sort of Country scene as well which I've been part of for years and that's usually where the good stuff comes from. And we're lucky because it's crossed over in to the mainstream world somehow up here. Like up here they're playing us with all of the mainstream Country people, which is really strange.ԍ So what's next? Conquer America. With all of the success the band has celebrated in 2006, coming to America is like starting from square one. ԛI]t's kind of a challenge though,ԠLund says, ԩt's cool.ԍ With a release that Lund feels is on par with anything else on the market, he has assembled a team around him to make that push into the States. The songwriting on Highland Steer continues to improve and Lund's band, the Hurtin' Albertans, have been perfecting their road show on recent tours through the States. In his march south Lund has aligned himself with three allies that have helped him improve as he grows as an artist. His first ally, one from across the border, embedded in Nashville, is Harry Stinson, who produced both Five Dollar Bill and Highland Steer. When it came time to record 2002's Five Dollar Bill Lunds' former manager suggested they meet with Stinson. ԉ have to admit, I think that was five or six years ago probably when we did that first one, I wasn't aware of him and his pedigree when I first worked with him because my manager at the time knew him. We were looking for a producer and she said, ‘oh, I know this guy' and we went into the studio when he was up here for a show and did a couple of songs over the weekend and it was awesome. And then I started digging around on the ‘net and was like ‘holy shit!'Ԡlaughs Lund, ԓpeaking of cool stuff in Nashville, he's like the Zen master of all the cool music in Nashville.ԍ Another ally is Canadian Country/Folk artist Ian Tyson who began his career in the folk duo Ian & Sylvia in the early 1960s. The influential duo also released a Country-Rock-Folk cult classic under the name Great Speckled Bird in the late Sixties. After a brief retirement to tend to his ranch in 1979, Tyson returned to recording and followed a more Country direction. ԗell it was probably inevitable that I would meet Ian at some point ‘cause we're both from Alberta, we both have similar backgrounds as far as the Western stuff goes and we're on the same label up here,ԠLund explains. ԉ meet him a few years ago, I can't even remember where, but I've known him quite a while, because we are both from Alberta, but he's been a real supporter too, he's sang on the record. I go up there to his place and we pick and drink beer.ԍ That friendship lead to meeting another folk legend, Ramblin' Jack Elliot. ԗe played a show together a number of years ago, in Alberta, I opened for him and we ended up hanging out and drinking beer until five in the morning,Ԡhe laughs. Ԉe took a shine to me, as it were. We're buddies now, I call him once in a while and he tells me 45 minute stories. One of the songs that has, surprisingly been the most played up here is the one about the trucks getting stuck and that was a talking blues and he was the guy that inspired me to, I mean I'd heard that stuff before but, after getting to know him a little bit and playing with him, I went back and dug into my Dylan and Guthrie, all that sort of stuff and that was loosely the inspiration to write a talking blues song. I was happy to be the guy who got a talkin' blues song on CMT up here, I was proud of that.ԍ Ԃut that's been one of the coolest things about the whole last few years of my career is meeting the ‘old guard' and the guys you've listened to for years and looked up to,Ԡhe muses, ԉt's pretty neat.ԍ {mospagebreak} The music on Highland Steer is an eclectic mix that represents Lund's influences and tastes. Growing up on a ranch, Lund listened to many of the great Country artists of the late-'60s and ‘70s such as Willie Nelson and Johnny Horton ("Marty Robbins was a huge one."). But not all of his influences were stars: ԁctually, it's interesting, one of my earliest influences were my grandfathers because they're both cattle ranchers, they both came up from Nevada and Utah, around the turn of the century our families came up from America. When I was a kid they used to sing old- they weren't singers, they were just cowboys and they were terrible singers, but (laughs) they had these songs that were kind of old cowboy oral tradition history songs that predate recorded music, like the ‘Strawberry Roan' and ‘The Streets of Laredo' and that sort of stuff. Which is really cool and I didn't know this at the time, but thinking back on it now it's like a real connection to a time when those ballad songs were documentations of peoples exploits and they would be passed around from guy to guy working, before anyone was thinking about making money with music they were singing songs as entertainment and a way of recording their own history. So the first songs I learned were ‘Strawberry Roan' and one called ‘When the Works all Done This Fall' and a handful of them,Ԡhe says. Around age 15, like many adolescents are prone to do, Lund discovered Rock ‘n' Roll via bands such as Black Sabbath. Ԕhat was what actually got me into playing music, I played indie rock for a number of years as well as this stuff,Ԡhe recalls. While keeping one foot in the Country music he grew up with, Lund began a fairly lengthy career in a modern Rock outfit, The Smalls, which drew heavily on the Sabbath influences. As a primary writer in the band while also writing songs for his Country side project, Lund continued to stretch himself creatively. ԉ think that that's had an interesting affect on my writing style because I think that if I'd, growing up in a rural setting, if I'd gone into making music directly without getting into other stuff, I think my music would be a lot more straight ahead, like normal Country and Western music, but having been in an underground indie rock band for eight or ten years where individuality and uniqueness is rewarded instead of discouraged, I think that's had an influence on my writing style. I think my writing style is a blend of Western heritage with independent irreverence,Ԡhe laughs, Աuirky.ԍ That quirky sense of humor shows up on songs like the aforementioned talking blues Ԕhe Truck Got Stuck,ԠԈurtin' AlbertanԠand one of the albums most popular songs, ԁll I Want To Do Is Play CardsԠ("That's one of my primary distractions when I'm trying to get songs written, so I figured I could use it as field reference that way I could justify all of my hours in the card room as field research."). But a quirky sense of humor in songwriting can sometimes be a drawback as many critics will be quick to write you off as a novelty. ԙeah, they have a couple times,ԠLund chuckles, Ԃut, I don't know, whatever. I think about the stuff that I like to listen to and, I don't know, I'm a big Jerry Reed fan. It's like, I do what I do and if people like it, they like it. I mean there's more lighthearted stuff on this record than my last one, I didn't do it on purpose, that's just the way it turned out, but there's actually more fun kind of stuff on this record. Actually, my favorite tunes on the record are the darker ones like ‘The Truth Comes Out' and the one with Tyson is one of my favorites, ‘The Rodeo's Over.'ԍ Ԃut on the other hand up here in Canada which is kind of a microcosm of the music industry internationally or whatever, it's interesting, it's been the novelty, the hooky songs have been the ones that have drawn people in to buying the record and then when they buy the record they go ‘oh, wow, there's some interesting stuff on there. ԉ've heard a lot of records that are a lot of shoe-gazing introspective stuff and that kind of gets me down (laughs). I don't know, I think on a record it is important to have a variety of moods on it.ԍ The moods of Highland Steer navigate between the advice from his grandfathers on ԁlways Keep an Edge on Your KnifeԠto the trucker song Ԉurtin' Albertan.ԠStory songs such as Ԕhe Truth Comes OutԠand ԃounterfeiter's BluesԠreveal Lunds' songwriting chops and his dual love of story songs and history. ԙeah, I'm a sucker for the old-fashioned stuff in all things but in music I always look to the past for stuff. There's other stuff on the record, there's a bit of ragtime, Western Swing.ԍ The variety seems to be serving him well as he continues to see his exposure grow and his fan base widen. But regardless of whether he makes it big internationally, he will continue to do what he believes he was born to do. ԉ'm pretty serious about music so I'm kind of doing it either way. So I made the decision a long time ago to do this and I decided I would do this whether I had a lot of help or not, but finally it's nice to have some.ԍ

The well-played music focuses on familiar themes of trucks & truckin’, love, rodeos and home on the range—all of which I’m sure translates very well at his many, many live performances to packed rooms. Mr. Lund has a nice, even voice on this album, but his tone seldom varies from his tongue-in-cheek delivery. He is a good storyteller and a great yodeler. And I bet, if he focused in on the right song, he could sing the hell out of it, too. Regardless, this is a fun record with memorable songs such as "Little Foothills Heaven," "Always Keep An Edge On Your Knife" and "The Truck Got Stuck." Ramblin’ Jack Elliott is featured on "The Truck Got Stuck Talkin’ Blues" redux with a great story about a paying $12 for a Model A Ford. - Mary Sack