“It bums me out! After about four years now, no one realizes the illegals I’m talking about look more like our bass player, John!”, jokes Paul “Pope Paul” Bouyear of Santa Ana’s twangy trio Pope Paul & The Illegals. Bassist John Kveen is very tall and very caucasian. It would be easy for one to imagine him just stepped off the boat up Ellis Island circa 1892 or over Plymouth Rock in 1620. Bouyear, by contrast, like drummer Sal “Fat Sal” Sandoval both appear mighty for their stature, an assumption quickly proven true. In Trump’s America, however, Bouyear admits the band receives more shit on Facebook for some perceived disparaging of Pope Francis more so than The Illegals moniker. “Most are good sports. They laugh it off when I joke about the Mayflower at our shows.”, reassures the good Pope. 

It would be easy to blame Tony Hawk. After all, Bouyear, like millions of American teens spent hours playing Pro Skater 3 at the end of the millennia. With a soundtrack made up by the likes of Del The Funky Homosapien and Xhibit, It was The Reverend Horton Heat with “I Can’t Surf” that crept into Bouyear’s subconscious. This music harkened back to his Grandma Carol’s Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly LP’s. As well, this sound was obviously descended from The Stray Cats whom his mother and aunt adored. ​

​With poignant and thought provoking lyrics, Alabama's Amy McCarley finds balance in a new perspective with MECO, her 3rd studio album due February 8, 2019. MECO, an acronym borrowed from the Space Shuttle program that stands for Main Engine Cut Off, occurs when on board propulsion systems disengage at an altitude where velocity is maintained by the power of an innate force at work in the universe with periodic adjustments from the vehicle. MECO, the album, traces McCarley’s experiences of leaving life as a NASA contractor to pursue a career in music.

McCarley explains the inspiration behind the album, “Similar to shuttle missions, the trajectory of my path has been defined by how well I have been able to develop personal strength as an artist to the point where the possibility of connecting with the enormous collaborative power of other worldly talent exists. It has taken everything I have plus the guiding unseen hands of time and chance together with support from some incredibly talented generous souls in order for this album to be made and on its way to listeners.”

The ten tracks of all original material feature songs of determination and revelation (“A Clue”), cathartic release (“Everything Changed,” “Happy,” “Farewell Paradise”), joyful triumph (“High Wire”), gratitude (”Days”), and finding meaning amidst uncertainty (“Never Can Tell”).

​Today, TDC is thrilled to premiere "Clarksdale Blues" a relatable song of perseverance after despair led by a spacious, blues-tinged melody, slide guitar, and McCarley's vocals which balance the somber with the hopeful.

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McCarley shares, “George Bradfute is a great slide guitar player. There is a lot of space on this track musically so that his part and the words really stand out to me. It feels like those wide open blue skies in the Mississippi Delta. The ones that make you happy to see them coming in and so sad to leave as you are going.” 

Further explaining the story behind the song she adds,
“I wrote this song with Pat Alger in Nashville on the Monday after spending a weekend playing Clarksdale’s Juke Joint Festival. For anyone who may not know, Clarksdale lays its claim as birthplace of the blues at a crossroads there where allegedly Robert Johnson traded his soul to the devil in exchange for the ability to play other-worldly blues guitar. This city in the heart of the Mississippi Delta brings together an eclectic group of blues and Americana music lovers from around the world for their annual Juke Joint Fest with a small town southern flair like no other.

Pat and I were talking about the challenge of leading a meaningful life with so many things competing for your attention in the physical and mental periphery along the musical path. There are just so many doubts, fears and circuses of various activity going on in the ever-changing physical environment that arise while you’re out there trying to remember to ‘just do your thing.’ It truly is an olympic obstacle course for body, mind and spirit. So easy to get lost. So easy to forget.” 

“‘Clarksdale Blues’ is a song for anyone who’s ever lost perspective and the strength to persevere as time and circumstance drug them along at their own impersonal rates of change. It’s for anybody who’s ever not really felt like making hay while the sun was shining. It’s for anyone who had to leave a place or a relationship before they were fully ready. It’s for anybody who’s ever made a mistake over and over and felt baffled by their failure to make a change for the better.” 

Enjoy, and share, the song above. For more information visit:

www.amymccarley.com, 
www.facebook.com/amymccarleymusic, 
www.twitter.com/amymccarley,  
​www.instagram.com/amymccarleymusic.

Hailed by Paste as ”bluegrass innovators,” Raleigh, NC-based quartet Chatham County Line will release their eighth studio album, Sharing The Covers, March 8 on Yep Roc Records. The video for the first single, Wilco's “I Got You (At the End of the Century),” premiered today at The Bluegrass Situation. The track is now available at all streaming services. 
 
Paying homage to Wilco on the first single, the band revitalizes the song with a bluegrass vibe complete with a splash of banjo and underscored by the twang that immediately marks the song with Chatham County Line's signature stamp.
 
“This Wilco tune,” says Dave Wilson, “is a prime example of how Sharing the Covers pulls covers directly from our set lists through the years. We had performed this tune back in 2005 at the release show celebrating our second album, Route 23, and hadn’t really revisited it since. When we were setting up in the studio to record some new material, the engineer asked us to test the levels on the microphones and somehow this song came out. We are still in awe of the great job Wilco does in creating moments in the studio...they are a great inspiration for any band attempting to weather the years.”

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — On Friday, January 25, 2019, The Blues Foundation will honor 11 individuals and organizations at its Keeping the Blues Alive Awards brunch, taking place at the Doubletree Hotel -Downtown Memphis at 10:30 a.m. Decided by a select panel of blues professionals, the annual KBA Awards recognize the writers, disc jockeys, photographers, record labels, blues societies, music clubs, festivals and others in the blues world that have played vital roles in advancing the art and commerce of blues.

The KBA Awards are just part of The Blues Foundation’s 35th Annual International Blues Challenge. Held in Memphis, along historic Beale Street, the IBC kicks off Tuesday, January 22, 2019with International Showcase performances and culminates with the finals at the Orpheum Theatre on Saturday, January 26, 2019 at 12 noon. More than 800 musicians from around the globe are anticipated to converge in Memphis to battle for glory — along with prizes and bookings — at the world’s largest and most renowned blues music competition. Showcases and jam sessions will occur daily along Beale Street with more music happening after the Challenge concludes each evening, going into the wee hours.