Happy Hanukkah!

Happy Hanukkah!

Above is a video made by Punk Empire of an old friend of mine Craig Morrison, and his band playing at Hillbilly Night. Hillbilly Night is an internationally-known event that welcomes all who are in favor of or at least open to authentic country music. It is attended by the young and the old, the French and the English, the ladies and the gentlemen, the hip and the square. Singers, whether amateur or professional, take turns backed by a pool of able players. Styles include hillbilly, bluegrass, fiddle tunes, honky tonk, western swing, country boogie, rockabilly, folk, and skiffle. This event has built a real and expanding community, and is a jewel in the cultural world of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

I highly recommend checking out the link to Punk Empire. If you don't have time to watch all the videos, at least read the "profile blurbs". There are definitive quotes about music, punk and the art-making process. This is one of the very best pages on YouTube. I shit you not. If you've ever wondered what punk music is, why it means so much to those of us who are punks, you can find all the answers here!

Craig Morrison just might be the hardest working music lover in the world. He was a huge influence on me when I was a young bitter "purist". He taught me all music is work to be respected regardless of it's genre or stature in history, and for that soul-opening lesson I am forever grateful. If you visit Craig's website you can see and order one of his books. He wrote an encyclopedia of Rock and Roll and a major contribution to the study of Rockabilly. Craig was writing a dissertation on Rockabilly back when it was a nearly forgotten art form and almost no formal work on Rockabilly existed. In this labour he was a visionary and brave academic soul.

"a definitive study of rockabilly music. This book is a gem! Unlike most rockabilly mavens, Morrison is a professionally trained musician, a lucid writer, a savvy sociologist, and a critical yet balanced evaluator of singers, songwriters, and songs. The blending of such theoretical strength and musical knowledge is rare among popular music commentators. The genius of this investigation resides in the author’s pursuit of cultural meaning rather than just stylistic definition." - B. Lee Cooper, Popular Music and Society.

Famous Jewish Cowboys:

1.) Kinky Friedman at Amazon
2.) Bronco Billy
3.) Chicken Farmer and singer Scott Gerber and his songs. Order the documentary
4.) Jewish Cowboy Museum
5.) Sammy Davis. Jr,
6.) Interview with James Caan The Best Jewish Cowboy

Everyone has a little punk in them...what's yours? Happy Festivus!