Recommended Listening...The Gougers...Archive.org

The Gougers have a new record called A Long Day For The Weathervane that just came out Tuesday (10/16). There are a few new tunes as well as a few old ones. You can download or order the new record from lonestarmusic.com. Anyway, get it. It's good. Until then...

Here's a nice soundboard recording of the Gougers (formerly the Sidehill Gougers) opening up for Scott Miller this past June at Stubb's. I have seen them a few times as an acoustic trio but this was my first experience seeing them with the drums (John Ross Silva) and a full-time electric guitar player (Lance Smith, formerly Hayes Carll's guitar player). I really enjoyed the lineup and the way they had reworked some of the tunes. The new tunes are also quite good.

http://www.archive.org/details/gougers2007-06-07.sbd.flac

Recommended Listening...The Stillwater Pioneers...Archive.org

One of the finest bands in Austin is the Stillwater Pioneers. Part jam-band, part outlaw country, part singer/songwriter-fare. Already a rag-tag lot with varied musical interests, they can now add to that list an absentee singer/songwriter in Johnny Dango who is moving to the coast...Corpus Christi to be exact to be a sports reporter. Hopefully, Dango can show off his reporting chops, advance and get back to the 512 in short order. They're still going to be playing around Austin but they'll most likely be expanding to include a few shows down in Corpus, Port A., and other points south.

Their new cd "Let's Go Pioneering" is easily the best cd to find its way into my collection so far this year.

This is a great little show from the Mean Eyed Cat from August 2007 where you can hear them do a bunch of great covers including Bob Dylan, Merle Haggard, Todd Snider, Hank Williams, John Prine, Townes Van Zandt and the Georgia Satellites in addition to a slew of the tracks from their record. There's also a great cover of the NWA classic "Automobile".

Recommended tracks: 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 22, 24, 25, 27.