The Armadillo Podcast

Episode 19: Jade Day

Our next guest, Jade Day, is an Austin singer-songwriter who’s compelling songwriting, fierce falsetto, and dynamic stage presence have helped him stand out in a town over run with singer-songwriters.

Jade was recently on quite a tear during SXSW, playing three showcases and one radio station, supporting his new EP, Chimera.  Click on this iTunes button to sample and dowload a little Jade into to your iPod:   

If you caught Jade playing live at any of these showcases, send us an email and tell us what you thought.  If all that music wasn't quite enough to turn you into a Dead Head for Jade, (a Jade Head?), there are two more chances to catch Jade tonight: 

•   Sunday March 19th- Beck's: 6pm 
•   Sunday March 19th- Flipnotics: 9pm (1/2 hour showcase)

Still need more persuasion to devote your life to following Jade from gig to gig?  Take a listen to our interview with Jade and you'll sell everything you own and start living out of an old Volkswagen van.

Click here to listen to our Jade Day interview: Download ArmadilloPodcast19.mp3

Jade also has some free music from his previous album, In Absense or Abuse, available on his MySpace page. Word of warning:  Jade's song "Leaving" will break your heart.  It's not recommended listening for anyone suffering through depression.

Oh, and click here to read what Jade's hometown newspaper wrote about him.

(Photo above by Erica Lange.)

Free SXSW MP3 Downloads

Don't have a SXSW wrist band?  Don't worry.

The folks at CNET have some SXSW goodness for you, available in free MP3 downloads.

And they have lots of music from bands you've actually heard of, not just the wannabe's and the never-heard-of's. 

Morrisey, Echo and the Bunnymen, And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Rosanne Cash, The Greencards, Jessi Colter, Kris Kristofferson, Neko Case, Spoon and many, many more are there for your downloading pleasure.

Link: South By Southwest 2006 - Free Music Downloads - MP3 Downloads - Download.com Music.

SXSW column from a grumpy local: Please yell "Freebird" at every opportunity

Know what really, really gets a wanna-be rock star mad?  Yell a request for "FREEBIRD" during a quiet moment.

The Wall Street Journal reports on the front page this morning, that nothing sets off American Idol hopefuls like a shouted reference to an old Lynyrd Skynyrd tune.  See "Rock's Oldest Joke: Yelling 'Freebird!' In a Crowded Theater." 

Apparently it's such a cliche that Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock says that "if this were the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and you were going to die in 20 minutes -- just long enough to play 'Freebird' -- we still wouldn't play it."

According to the Journal, this urban legend-ish war cry began in Chicago:

Kevin Matthews is a Chicago radio personality who has exhorted his fans -- the KevHeads -- to yell "Freebird" for years, and claims to have originated the tradition in the late 1980s, when he says he hit upon it as a way to torment Florence Henderson of "Brady Bunch" fame, who was giving a concert. He figured somebody should yell something at her "to break up the monotony." The longtime Skynyrd fan settled on "Freebird," saying the epic song "just popped into my head."

Mr. Matthews says the call was heeded, inspiring him to go down the listings of coming area shows, looking for entertainers who deserved a "Freebird" and encouraging the KevHeads to make it happen.

But he bemoans the decline of "Freebird" etiquette. "It was never meant to be yelled at a cool concert -- it was meant to be yelled at someone really lame," he says. "If you're going to yell 'Freebird,' yell 'Freebird' at a Jim Nabors concert."

As a native Austinite, this is my personal plea for every SXSW attendee to yell out a request for Freebird at every SXSW show. 

I don't care that the influx of a thousand musicians and ten music label guys brings X million dollars to the Austin economy.

I just want just want a smooth commute to downtown and it pains me that the locals are tossed aside every March when the SXSW trots out the old guy we should lionize and the new guys we should adore soon. (This year the old guy is Billy Idol Ray Davies I haven't really paid attention enough to see who the new people are.  I hear that hip hop stuff really sells, though.)

Full disclosure: I lost way too many dates to Austin musicians while growing up here. I know I should be over it by now.  But I'm not.

(Originally published March 17, 2005 -- Had to do it again: Locals loved it and the little band guys wearing that shaggy haircut I wore in 1978 sent in a lot of hate mail.  **Snicker**)

More SXSW guidelines.

A bit about Jade Day

The Austin Chronicle had this to say about Jade Day, our next guest:

"Jeff Buckley's ghost has invaded this Coloradoan's body, and he's screaming - alto growl to über-falsetto in one second. From Damien Rice to Jeremy Enigk, he hits every note" - Darcie Stevens, Austin Chronicle 9/04

Here's more praise:

"...ethereal falsettos in a Jeff Buckley-Thom Yorke mode, floating toward the clouds before you can grab them" - Chuck Eddy, Village Voice 8/05

  "...an intoxicating album that sounds poetic without the schmaltz. Day's structural subtleties are hypnotic, especially when they rise to full-throated climaxes. Keep an ear on them." - Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman/XL 1/06  (We interviewed Michael in Episode 17.)

Chimera, Jade's new EP is available on iTunes, of course, and you can sample every song here:

There are many opportunities to catch Jade at SXSW and all the details are here  in a previous post.

Or, you can join the Jade Day Army on his MySpace page.

Next Guest: Jade Day, Singer-Songwriter

In Austin, you can swing a stick in any direction and you'd hit a singer-songwriter.  Recently I met one of these folks and he helped me rethink my desire to hit singer-songwriters with a stick.

Jade Day will be our next guest on The Armadillo Podcast and if you'll take the time to listen to this upcoming episode, you too will probably give up the once-popular sport of swatting at singer-songwriters.  Like the clubbing of baby seals, this practice has got to stop.

In all seriousness, you owe it to yourself to give this guy a listen.  His latest EP, Chimera, is available on iTunes and you can always listen to a sample of his work before purchasing.  Click here to check out the four songs on Chimera:      

If you're struggling with your calendar during SXSW, listening to Jade's songs should help you make up your mind about at least one artist you can't afford to miss.

You catch Jade Day at several showcases during SXSW:

• Tuesday March 14th- El Mercado "Writers Who Rock" showcase: 9:30pm
• Thursday March 16th- Live performance on 93.7 KLBJ: 10a.m.
• Thursday March 16th- BMI Showcase @ Austin-Bergstrom International Airport: 4:15pm
• Thursday March 16th- South by Southwest showcase: Creekside at Capitol Place: 8pm
• Sunday March 19th- Beck's: 6pm
• Sunday March 19th- Flipnotics: 9pm (1/2 hour showcase)

Also come back soon to hear our interview with Jade and remember only you can prevent singer-songwriter clubbing.

Photo above by Melissa Champion.

Video of Cowboys are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other

Were you aware that the cowboys portrayed in Brokeback Mountain aren't cowboys?  They're sheep herders, according to this probably illegal video of Willie Nelson's new song "Cowboys are Frequently Secretly (Fond of Each Other). 

Somebody named "Rictor" has edited scenes from Brokeback Mountain to Willie's tune and placed the video on YouTube.com. 

I'm sure the lawyers are already swarming, so this video won't be up very long.  If you'd like to legally purchase a copy of the song for .99 cents on iTunes, click here:    

Free 30-second previews of all songs only at iTunes.

According to this story, country music stations in the Midland-Odessa are are refusing to play Willie's new song  because "We know our audience doesn't want to hear this on the airwaves because it highlights a lifestyle they don't approve of."

I guess the fact that the Brokeback Mountain boys are really sheep herders will help West Texas sleep a little easier now.

Homesick for Texas?

If you're homesick for Texas, take a listen to some of our guests on The Armadillo Podcast. 

Download a little twang into your iPod and then go find a BBQ joint in your neighborhood.  Order the ribs and a beer, then turn up the volume on one of shows. The food may not taste like the Salt Lick BBQ back home, but listening to these folks talk  will  almost make you feel like you're having a sit-down, family-style meal. (Complete episode guide after the jump.)

Listen to The Armadillo Podcast and meet  some of  Austin's most interesting  people. The Armadillo Podcast exists solely to convince Galia, my best friend living out in California to move to Austin, TX.

That may sound like a small niche but the people who love Austin and its quirky ways are a large and passionate audience. 

And I intend to ask every person in Austin to share their affection for the city through his podcast interviews until my friend moves to town. 

Previous guests who joined me so far on this quest so far have included Kinky Friedman, Melicious, one of the Texas Rollergirls and David Brown, the host of KUT's Texas Music Matters program.

In trying to convince my friend to "come home with the armadillo," like the song says, I’ve so far interviewed 18 people in Austin, the country's 16th largest city.  That's 18 down and 656,544 to go till I either interview them all, or my friend gives in and moves here.  But this show is really about the things that make Austin special. It's an online radio postcard that says "Wish you were here," to all our friends abroad.

My friend Galia, an Israeli woman who lives in Northern California, has been my friend for nearly twenty years.  Since The Armadillo Podcast launched last year, I've interviewed Austin authors, musicians, politicians, every day Austinites and I end every show by asking Galia if she’s ready to move.   However, every week, my friend says, "No, I won't.”



Will Galia ever move to Austin?  Don't miss a single episode of The Armadillo Podcast and find out.

Subscribe to The Armadillo Podcast Newsletter.

Sample and subscribe to thousands of free podcasts at the iTunes Music Store.

Video Interview of Willie: On Why Cowboys (Of all Persuasion) are his Heroes

KXAN, the local NBC affiliate, scored a funny, intelligent, one-on-one interview with Willie Nelson and he talked with Michelle Valles about his new song, "Cowboys are Frequently Secretly (Fond of Each Other). At this posting, the song is currently the number four most dowloaded song on iTunes.

Regarding BrokeBack Mountain, Willie said, "It was a beautifully made movie. Ang Lee is a great director and you know the guys didn't turn me on. I saw a couple of sheep that turned me on."

Link: KXAN.com - Willie Nelson's New Song. (Click the little red camera icon on the left to see the video.)

Willie's new song about the rodeo that dare not speak its name (sorry, Oscar Wilde) can only be found on iTunes and you can download it here:    

Free 30-second previews of all songs only at iTunes.

Willie, if you see this, we'd really like to interview you on The Armadillo Podcast.

Back in Episode 9, we interviewed your buddy Kinky Friedman and he told us about naming you Energy Czar once he wins the governor's race.  Ask Kinky, he'll tell you we don't bite. As Kinky says, "Why the hell not?" (Sorry, Kinky.)

West Texas' Take on Willie's New Gay Cowboy Song

He's just pulling our leg, says MyWestTexas.com. 

Quote:

"I prefer to think he's just having fun at our expense. He's certainly not above or below that. Which is not to say we're apt to have fun back. My guess is we won't much like Willie's song in these parts. Nor will there be much of a chance of us turning on local country radio and hearing it any time soon."

"...Hey, it could be worse: instead of singing about gay cowboys, he could have suggested that they're all liberals."

Link: MyWestTexas.com - Willie's new gay cowboy song set in West Texas.

Want a free copy of "Cowboys are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other?" Click here for details.

Free 30-second previews of all songs only at iTunes.

Listen to Willie Nelson's New Song "Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly"

Want to take a free listen to Willie Nelson's new iTunes-only single Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly (Fond of Each Other)?

We'll send you a free copy via email just for subscribing to The Armadillo Podcast.

Subscribe now to the newsletter and we will buy you a copy of Willie's new song to download on to your iPod or other MP3 player.

  These boots were made for walking Originally uploaded by The Department.

  These boots were made for walking Originally uploaded by The Department.

This offer is available only to the first 15 new subscribers.   

It's simple to do. Click on this link and enter your email address.  FeedBlitz will then send you an email asking you to confirm your email address.  After you've confirmed your email address, forward that message from FeedBlitz to an Armadillo Podcast editor and tell us that you've subcribed.  The first 15 new subscribers will then receive the song via email.

Happy trails!

Free 30-second previews of all songs only at iTunes.