John Walker Blues Steve Earle
Clubs roundup: Troubadour Earle makes the most of second chance
Like his idol Townes van Zandt, country-rock troubadour Steve Earle, who performs here with his backing band The Dukes & Duchesses, has had some difficulty separating the broken characters in his songs from his own shattered life.
The impressively bearded singer-songwriter — who looks so much like a street busker these days that David Simon cast him as one for his HBO series “Treme” — struggled with drug and alcohol addiction for years, finally getting clean following a jail stint in the early ’90s.
Since receiving his second chance, the talented Earle has remained highly prolific, releasing albums of politically charged agit-folk (“Jerusalem,” highlighted by the controversial “John Walker’s Blues”) and backward-looking efforts that double as tips-of-the-cap to his songwriting heroes (“Townes” and the recently released “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive,” which borrows its title from a Hank Williams tune).
Earle performs an all-ages show at the Barrymore Theatre, 2090 Atwood Ave., at 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 20. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased through barrymorelive.com . (Don’t Miss It)
Arlo Guthrie
When: Thursday, July 14, 7:30 p.m.
It’s somewhat surprising that the New York-born folk singer is headlining this local fundraiser for the We Are Wisconsin coalition, since he usually avoids getting entangled in local politics. “You’d almost never see me asking people to vote for someone where I wouldn’t have to suffer the consequences,” he wrote in a recent email. But Guthrie sees something different about this particular cause, and he arrives in town intending to “throw (his) support behind regular people who work for a living.” The show also falls on what would have been his legendary father’s 99th birthday, so expect the singer-songwriter to perform a handful of Woody Guthrie tunes in tribute. (Safe Bet)
Wook and The Coop
When: Thursday, July 14, 9 p.m.
On their latest album, “Bring in the Sails,” the Twin City country-rock ensemble swings between the barroom blues of “Truck Driving Man” and mellower acoustic fare like “I Knew,” which pairs frontman Erik Brandt’s love-struck words with guitars that flutter about like the butterflies in his stomach. (Safe Bet)
Thurston Moore
When: Saturday, July 16, 9:30 p.m.
John Walker Blues Steve Earle - News
Earle's music doesn't shy away from the complexities of the issues. A couple of good examples of this are his songs "John Walker's Blues," about captured American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh, and "Ellis Unit One," from the "Dead Man Walking"
Since receiving his second chance, the talented Earle has remained highly prolific, releasing albums of politically charged agit-folk (“Jerusalem,” highlighted by the controversial “John Walker's Blues”) and backward-looking efforts that double as
John Labatt Centre, 99 Dundas (London). 1-866-455-2849, johnlabattcentre.com. Aug 7 Steve Earle Steve Earle & the Dukes (and Duchesses) along with Allison Moorer perform. 8 pm, all ages. $49.50. Centennial Hall, 590 Wellington (London).
STEVE EARLE AND THE DUKES (AND THE DUCHESSES): Aug. 23, 7:30 pm, FM Kirby Center, Wilkes-Barre, $25/$35. AUSTRALIA'S THUNDER FROM DOWN UNDER: male review show, Aug. 23 and 24, 7:30 pm, $25. STABINSKY-SMITH JAZZ TRIO: with Bob Ventrello, Aug.
Dan Walker Trio, singer-songwriter. With Isa Burke and Lina Tullgren, 6 pm Thursday. Summer Concerts in the Park, Memorial Park, Scarborough, free. 772-2811 ext. 234. The Tony Boffa Band, 6:30 pm Thursday. The Steve Jones Ensemble, The Liberal Cup,
Post-9/11's "Great Quiet" and Steve Earle's "John Walker's Blues ...
The venerable online music magazine Perfect Sound Forever ran an amazing piece this month called “Steve Earle: Sympathy For An American Terrorist,” which is an excerpt from Dorian Lynskey’s recent book “33 Revolutions Per Minute – A History of Protest Songs,” which has immediately risen to the top of my “have to read this RIGHT NOW” list. The excerpt profiles that dark period after the September 11 attacks which REM had referred to as “the Great Quiet,” when Clear Channel was creating lists of “lyrically questionable songs,” and the idea of being an American and writing any kind of controversial or “protesting” song seemed positively unpatriotic.
I remember that time clearly. I was a sophomore at Indiana University, having just transferred there from a small private Christian college a few weeks prior. I remember walking to class on September 11, 2001 and being as stunned as everyone, when no one knew what had happened and why.
But I also remember the smothering feeling which came afterwards, when everything you said had to be parsed against the idea of seeming like you weren’t supporting America in trying times. I bought a copy of Bleed American by Jimmy Eat World on September 12 while trying to get my mind onto other things. Weeks later the only copies you could find were the reissues, which were simply titled Jimmy Eat World , because the band feared the title might be misinterpreted as “Bleed, American.”
I fell in love with Steve Earle’s Jerusalem almost the moment I first heard it. Earle took the chance few other artists would have taken, writing a concept album about life in a post-September 11 world, and critics who received the album in advance of its release made an unholy racket about “John Walker’s Blues,” arguing it represented an “ode” to a terrorist, as though Earle was supporting our enemies by daring to write about a young American boy who turned Taliban. “I became acutely aware that what happened to [John Walker Lindh] could have happened to my son, and your son, and anybody’s son,” Earle told the Guardian ’s John Harris. “Nobody in my country wanted to admit that.”
I, meanwhile, admired Earle for daring to write a song about a boy who essentially converted to Islam because of what he’d heard from hip hop on MTV. Misguided as he may have been, he believed he was on the right path and he fought for what he believed. And like Earle says, it really could have been anyone. The national outrage, in retrospect, does seem like it was aimed at keeping anyone else from falling out of line. “Don’t say anything controversial! They’ll accuse you of aiding the terrorists!
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Post-9/11's "Great Quiet" and Steve Earle's "John Walker's Blues"
Post-9/11's "Great Quiet" and Steve Earle's "John Walker's Blues" | John Walker Blues Steve Earle - Bookshelf
33 Revolutions Per Minute, A History of Protest Songs, from Billie Holiday to Green Day
“I'm just an American boy” 32 Steve Earle / “John Walker's Blues” / 2002 Saying the Unsayable After 9/11 IN THE WEEKS BEFORE SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, ...CMJ New Music Report
The song "John Walker's Blues" is a first person account through the eyes of the accused ... CMJ recently caught up with Earle to talk about his new album, ...Steve Earle, fearless heart, outlaw poet
"It certainly sounds like the guy that's being glorified by Steve Earle was ... At the height of the controversy over "John Walker's Blues," Steve was on ...The great rock discography
Sep96; same) STEVE EARLE and the DEL McCOURYBAND now with PETER ROWAN EMMYLOU ... 6.0 ( the best we can do) / Conspiracy theory / John Walker's blues / The ...1001 Songs
John Walker Blues Steve Earle (Steve Earle) u Artemis u 2002 u Appears on: Jerusalem In reaching down to the personal, Steve Earle came close to finding the ...Day-by-day Info Directory
Steve Earle - John Walker's Blues - YouTube
As a muslim, I feel that John Walker was treated unfairly. ... 3:45Add toAdded to queue Steve Earle - John Walker's Bluesby TheVillageRake8,334 views ...
Steve Earle, John Walker's Blues Lyrics
Steve Earle Lyrics - John Walker's Blues Lyrics / Steve Earle - John Walker's Blues Lyrics
Steve Earle - lyrics from Jerusalem
John Walker's Blues (Steve Earle) I'm just an American boy raised on MTV. And I've seen ... (Steve Earle) Tell me a story 'bout a fella with a crazy dream ...
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John Walker's Blues by Steve Earle Songfacts
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