Discourse Posts
Music Maker Relief Foundation & Dust-To-Digital
Music Maker Relief Foundation & Dust-To-Digital Preserve The Oldest Traditions 5/2/08
Emmylou Harris Inducted Into Country Music Hall of Fame
Emmylou Inducted Into The Country Music Hall of Fame 4/29/08
The Midnight Hour
A Backward Glance During The Midnight Hour 4/27/08
Outward Bound
“The eye and mind would be functioning as a camera. The writing would be selective and necessarily interpretive—but once read more...
Alabama: Places to Be and People to See
The Alabama Book Festival held in Montgomery, read more...
Dickinson's Eats & Dylan's Prize
Bob Dylan Wins Pulitzer Prize & Jim Dickinson's Best On The Road Eating 4/7/08
Football Film "Leatherheads" Brings Hollywood to Carolina
There’s been quite a lot of anticipation here in Greenville, SC over the past few months. I mean, everywhere you go you read more...
Time To Panic
A Journey To The Classic City For A Meeting With Seasoned Professionals 3/29/08
Alabama Beat: Words and Music in the Deep South
The three poems currently appearing in the Poetry section of Swampland are by Mississippi born Pulitzer Prize winner
Brother To Jackals & the Jukebox Chronicles
A Few Notes From The Underground 3/18/08
Black History Month: Look Back, but Move Forward
“Look back but move forward” was the credo of civil rights activist
Latest Releases From James McMurtry & Otis Redding
Latest Releases From James McMurtry and Otis Redding 2/27/08
Water, Water, Everywhere, Nor Any Drop To Drink
Today the New York Times ran an article entitled
Another Call To Harry Crews & Beyond
...An Ongoing Pursuit & Recording of the Mystery And Manners Saga...Widespread Panic...Jim Dickinson...Harry Crews and read more...
It's Not Easy Being Indie
I always thought that in my next incarnation I wanted to come back as an independent documentary filmmaker. I held on to that dream read more...
Widespread Soul
read more...
Adventures In The (Pig) Skin Trade On Super Bowl Sunday
Roving Notes On Super Bowl Sunday 2/3/08
Lest We Forget: Four Spirits
January 30, 2008, marked the 60th anniversary of the assassination of India’s political and spiritual leader
The Best of All Possible Worlds or Is There Balm in Gilead?
I live in the boonies, the hinterlands of Northern Alabama. For years, I made do with erratic reception from local television read more...
Luther Dickinson: Night Before theTour...
Luther Dickinson Talks Present, Past & Future 1/16/08
Six Degrees of Separation
In the south we not only claim kin we also claim friends. I have learned that behind every new acquaintance there lies the read more...
...A Rising Tide of Georgia Rock And Roll...
A Rising Tide of Georgia Rock And Roll: David Barbe, The Drive By Truckers, Bloodkin & The Black Crowes
2008 Year of The Crowe
...Atlanta's Black Crowes Prepare for the Warpath... 1/7/08
Criteria Studios: 50 Years Later
Legendary Miami Studio 50 Years Later 12/30/07
Dr. John Voices Frustration At Friday New Orleans Show
Dr. John Expresses Frustration With Katrina Fallout 12/29/07
Country's Top 100 Heartbreaks
A List of Country Music's Greatest Hurtin' Songs 12/28/07
Full Moon Fever With Stanley Booth
Full Moon Fever With Stanley Booth 12/24/07
John Sayles Interview
Mystery & Manners John Sayles Interview 12/8/07 On Thursday I interviewed
Gibson's Robot Guitar
Gibson's Robot Guitar On Sale 12/6/07
No Country For Old Men Voted Best Film
Joel & Ethan Cohen's Film Earns High Praise 12/06/07
...Into The Deep...
Mystery & Manners Dispatch 12/05/07
Willie Nelson: Dogs Best Friend
Dogs Best Friend: Willie Nelson 11/24/07
Swampland Salutes Great Southern Writer Paul Hemphill
Mystery & Manners Highlights Writer Paul Hemphill 11/21/07
Coen Brothers Adapt Cormac McCarthy's Book No Country For Old Men Into Film
Coen Brothers Adapt Cormac McCarthy's Book No Country For Old Men Into Film 11/11/07
A Day In The Life of A Great American Guitarist (Marc Ford) PART THREE
A Day In the Life of A Great American Guitar Player: PART THREE Marc Ford In San Francisco 11/05/07
Mystery & Manners Dispatch From San Francisco
Dispatch From San Francisco 11/3/07
Mystery & Manners' Honorary Southern Artist(s) PART THREE--Tom Waits
Mystery & Manners' Honorary Southern Artist(s) PART THREE 10/31/07
Mystery & Manners' Honorary Southern Artist(s) PART TWO--Jerry Garcia
Mystery & Manners Honorary Southern Artist(s) Part Two 10/30/07
Halloween Movie Reviews from GRITZ
Film Reviews by Michael Buffalo Smith SAW IV
October 27 & 28 Bridge School Benefit
21st Bridge School Benefit Hosts Various Musicians 10/27/07
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Wednesday night’s opening game of the 2007 World Series at
SWAMPLAND Goin' Out West...Frisco Bound...
Mystery & Manners Goin' Out West To San Francisco 10/25/07
It is Raining on the River!
I guess I rattled my rain stick enough this weekend to wake up the clouds. We In North Alabama are reveling in what the Navajos call read more...
Weirdness Way Down South
Weirdness Down South 10/22/07
Mystery & Manners' Honorary Southern Artist(s) PART ONE--Bob Dylan
...Mystery & Manners' Honorary Southern Artist(s)...PART ONE... 10/11/07
Marc Ford Burns Through Atlanta
A Day In The Life of a Great American Guitarist: Marc Ford Burns Through Atlanta
William Eggleston: The Father of Color Photography
The Photography of William Eggleston 10/4/07
Ray McKinnon Randy and the Mob Blog
Ray McKinnon's Recent Blogs About His Latest Film, Randy and the Mob 10/3/07
The Paintings of Woodie Long
The Paintings of Woodie Long 10/2/07
Otis Redding Film Premier October 8
Dreams To Remember Premier October 8 10/1/07
Buffalo's Book Club: "Dixie Lullaby"
Welcome to the first installment of Buffalo's Book Club. I figured, if Oprah can have one, so can I. The only thing is, I read more...
Arrivederci Roma, Ciao Athens (Alabama)
I have just returned from ten days in Italy (Venice, Florence/Tuscany, and Rome) and am way behind on my blog, so please bear read more...
People Take Warning! Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs 1913-1938
Tompkins Square Releases Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs This Week 9/29/07
Blues Great Memphis Minnie Honored
Blues Great Memphis Minnie Honored 9/28/07
Nuke Fallout Shelter For Alabama
Alabama City Reopening Nuke Fallout Shelter 9/27/07
Goin' Home: A Tribute To Fats Domino
GOIN' HOME: A TRIBUTE TO FATS DOMINO 9/26/07
Excerpt from Paul Hemphill's The Good Old Boys
Excerpt from Paul Hemphill's The Good Old Boys 9/24/07
Ray McKinnon's Randy and the Mob
Ray McKinnon's New Film Randy and the Mob 9/22/07 From Capricorn Pictures...Here's the trailer for read more...
Dylan Plays The Ryman
BOB DYLAN PLAYS THE RYMAN AUDITORIUM IN NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 9/21/07
CD and DVD releases for week of September 18, 2007
New Releases Doyle Bramhall
The Shadow And the Truth
9/19/07 ...THE SHADOW AND THE TRUTH...
Emmylou Harris Retrospective "Songbird" Hits Streets Today
Songbird: Rare Tracks & Forgotten Gems Out Today 9/18/07
Luther Dickinson Flies With The Black Crowes
Luther Dickinson Flies With The Black Crowes 9/17/07
More Alabama Authors: Eric Smith
Eric Smith is assistant professor of English at the University of Alabama-Huntsville where his speciality is Post Colonial read more...
SPF Friday Fishwrap-up: LeBatard vs. Galloway
Another great southern tradition is writing. We have a whole section called Discourse that is dedicated to this read more...
Patterson Hood Song In New Ray McKinnon Film
Patterson Hood Song In New Ray McKinnon Film 9/12/07
CD and DVD releases for week of September 11, 2007
New Releases Billy Joe Shaver
Runnin' Down A Dream: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Perform at the New York Film Festival
9/10/07 ...Runnin' Down A Dream: A new Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Film Showing at New York Film read more...
Southeast Adventure Outfitters
read more...
Blind Willie McTell Named Stateboro's Second Legend In the Arts
9/9/07
Sounds of the South
CD and DVD releases for week of September 4, 2007
New Releases Collective Soul
Spotlighting Alabama Authors
During the next few weeks I will be featuring the poetry of several Alabama writers whose poems were published in the recent read more...
Dog Days End?
Stanley Booth arrives! (Fiction & Southern Pro Football too!)
Swampland is honored that esteemed Southern writer,
Breakfast With Paul, Drinks With Dan
8/19/07
CD and DVD releases for week of August 14, 2007
Darren Kozelsky
DEATH WEEK
The 30 year anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death falls on August 16, 2007. Like it or not, Elvis ranks as a southern icon. read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of August 7, 2007
New Releases Bruce Hornsby/Christian McBride/Jack DeJohnette
CD and DVD releases for week of July 31, 2007
New Releases 10 Mile Crossing
...A Call To Harry Crews...
7/27/07
CD and DVD releases for week of July 24, 2007
New Releases Billy Bob Thornton
CD and DVD releases for week of July 17, 2007
New Releases Raul Malo
Look Homeward, Angel: In Memoriam Doug Marlette
On Tuesday, July 10, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Doug read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of July 10, 2007
New Releases Chris & Rich Robinson
The Last Outpost of Time
read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of July 3, 2007
Reissues Asleep At The
New features added - Music, Discourse, Sports!
We at SWAMPLAND.COM just wanted to let everyone know about a couple of new weekly features we are adding to the site. First, read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of June 26, 2007
CDs New Releases Charlie Daniels
Fire On The Mountain
6/25/07
The Rise And Disappearance of Sly Stone
6/20/07 Few groups ever attain the musical power and wide commercial appeal of Sly & read more...
Johnny Cash Radio & Elvis Auction Items
6/18/07 The Sun Records boys are in the news again...
Fathers Day: Hot Fun In the Summertime
6/17/07 Happy Father’s Day…
The True Adventures of Stanley Booth
6/10/07 THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF STANLEY BOOTH As I wrote in the
Adventures In the Book Trade
6/6/07
Hotlanta Under Red Skies & Electric Blue
5/28/07 ...No rain in sight read more...
A Long, Hot Summer?
I don’t think it has rained in the Tennessee Valley since the day
Volunteer Jam DVD: The Holy Grail of Southern Rock
If there’s one single most defining event in the history of Southern Rock, it has to be the Volunteer Jam, especially read more...
Kirk West's Photographic Memories
With great pride Swampland.com presents this in-depth interview read more...
Cormac McCarthy Wins Pulitzer Prize
4/16/07 Tennessee writer Cormac McCarthy won a Pulitzer Prize today for his heart-rending novel The Road. Congratulations to read more...
"Grindhouse" is a True Tribute to Drive-In Movies
I can still remember the first time I went to a movie alone as a child. Actually, I was with my sister, but you know what I mean. I must read more...
Confessions of a TV Junkie
Okay, I’ll admit it. I sometimes spend way too much time sitting on the sofa in front of that infernal read more...
Amoeba To Release Vintage Gram Parsons Performance(s)
3/20/07 On March 15, through invitation only, a listening party was conducted at South By Southwest to debut the Flying read more...
The Best Radio On The Internet, The Mighty Field of Vision
Whatever happened to radio anyhow? I mean, radio today just plain sucks. Sure, you can find some interesting programming here and there read more...
Swampland Gets The Blues
Ain’t nothin’ like the blues. From the distant wail of Son House, to the darkness of Robert Johnson running from the Hell read more...
Billy Bob Thornton Shines In "The Astronaut Farmer"
Like most boys, I went through my “rockets and space” phase when I was a kid. I collected models of the space ships, and had read more...
South Carolina Radio and TV Pioneer Honored
BMI Award-winning songwriter Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith received the Honorary Life Membership Award from the South read more...
...Story of Blind Lemon Jefferson On New York Stage...
2/21/07 A New York Theater Company presents a musical revue based on the life of Blind Lemon Jefferson. The show began last read more...
Folkstreams-The Land Where The Blues Began
2/20/07 Folkstreams.net encapsulates many great films based read more...
Ghost Rider and Other Comic Book Movies
There has been a real surge of comic book movies over the past few year, and I must admit, I love it. I have been a comics fan my whole read more...
June Carter Cash Tribute Album, Biography Coming This Summer
The life of the late country music legend June Carter Cash will be celebrated this June 19, four days before her birthday, with the read more...
...Recording Adventures In The Classic City...
2/9/07 Last weekend I returned to my old stomping grounds in Athens, Georgia. The purpose of the visit was to record spoken read more...
Southern Writers Finalists For National Book Award...And Other Swampland Miscellany...
1/21/07 Southern writers Cormac McCarthy and Richard Ford are among finalists named for the 33rd annual National Book Award. read more...
"Layla" Book Tells The Story of a Great Recording
I have always had a thing for keeping lists. Lists of my all-time favorite movies, records, books. For as long as I can remember there read more...
"Dreamgirls" is a Winner
I just got in from one of the best movie musicals I have ever seen. Dreamgirls is a fictional story loosely based on the read more...
Texas Writer Terry Southern Makes Music News...Again...
12/29/06 Texas writer Terry Southern's legend lives on. On January 9, 2007, a new set of Beatles stamps become available in read more...
Townes Van Zandt & Eddie Hinton on Film
12/11/06 The work of the Late, Great Townes Van Zandt is now available on DVD. Be Here To Love Me can be found at
Discourse Reviews
See You In A Hundred Years
See You In A Hundred Years by Logan Ward Benbella Books Has the stess of today's world with read more...
Third And A Mile
Third And A Mile by William C. Rhoden ESPN Books
Just Us Kids
Just Us Kids James McMurtry Lightning Rod Records By James Calemine Austin, Texas, read more...
Bug
Bug William Friedkin Lionsgate By James Calemine Kentucky girl
Being Dead Is No Excuse
Being Dead is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting The Perfect Funeral Hyperion Press, 2005
Cocaine Angel
Cocaine Angel Damian Lahey Cinema Libre Studio By James Calemine This independent film was shot read more...
Big Bad Love
Big Bad Love Larry Brown Vintage Books By James Calemine Mississippi writer Larry Brown wrote read more...
Brighter Than Creation's Dark
Brighter Than Creation’s Dark Drive By Truckers New West Records By James Calemine
Hernando
Hernando North Mississippi Allstars Songs of the South By James Calemine Hernando is read more...
Darius Goes West
“Something’s gonna happen like…Just spark the whole world,” exclaims Darius, the star of the read more...
Conversations With Tom Petty
Conversations With Tom Petty Paul Zollo Omnibus Press By James Calemine Tom read more...
Buy The Ticket: Take The Ride: Hunter S. Thompson
Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride: Hunter S. Thompson on Film Starz Entertainment By James Calemine
Death Proof
Death Proof Quentin Tarantino Genius Productions By James Calemine Quentin Tarantino always read more...
How Low Can You Go?
How Low Can You Go? Anthology of the String Bass Various Artists Dust-To-Digital By James read more...
Salvation On Sand Mountain
Salvation On Sand Mountain Dennis Covington Penguin Books By James Calemine
Desperate Man Blues
Desperate Man Blues: Discovering The Roots of American Music The Story of Joe Bussard
I Belong To This Band
I Belong To This Band: Eighty-Five Years of Sacred Harp Recordings Various Artists Dust-To-Digital By read more...
Never Ending Soul Food Tour
James Calemine's "Never Ending Soul Food Tour" includes documented visits to barbecue joints, catfish dens, chicken read more...
Meat Market
Song of America
Song of America Various Artists 31 Tigers Records By James Calemine This 50-song, 3 CD read more...
Blood Meridian Or the Evening Redness in the West
Blood Meridian Or the Evening Redness in the West Cormac McCarthy Vintage Books By James read more...
Feast of Snakes
Feast of Snakes Harry Crews Macmillan Publishing By James Calemine November in Mystic, Georgia, read more...
GONZO: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson
GONZO: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson Jann S. Wenner & Corey Seymour Little, Brown and Company By read more...
Hurricane Season
KELBRN
I Don't Want No Trouble
I Don't Want No Trouble Don Nix Section Eight Productions By James Calemine Songwriter Don read more...
Mescalito
Mescalito Ryan Bingham Lost Highway By James Calemine This CD ranks as one of the best releases read more...
Killers From Space
Killers From Space James Luther Dickinson Memphis International Records By James read more...
Coltrane:The Story of a Sound
Coltrane: The Story of a Sound Ben Ratliff FSG Books By James Calemine Ben Ratliff wastes no words in read more...
Live at the Bohemian Caverns
Live at the Bohemian Caverns Carla Thomas Stax Records By James Calemine Recorded live at the read more...
Whatever Remembers Us: An Anthology
Whatever Remembers Us: An Anthology of Alabama Poetry edited by Sue Brannan Walker and J. read more...
Atlantic Records: The House That Ahmet Built
(Atlantic DVD) Let me tell you a story. According to The Rolling Stones and Led read more...
Black Snake Moan
Come Early Morning
Brothers Of A Feather
Brothers Of A Feather Chris & Rich Robinson Eagle Records By James Calemine
Southern Soul Barbecue
Southern Soul Barbecue 318 Mallory Street Saint Simons Island, Georgia 31522 912-634-7516
Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room-Savannah, Georgia
Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room 107 West Jones Street Savannah, Georgia 31401 912-232-5997 James read more...
Red Dirt Marijuana & Other Tastes
Driving With The Devil
Jesus Out To Sea
Cigar City Mafia
To Live's To Fly
A Love Supreme
The Getaway
The Complete Recordings
40 Greatest Hits
Straight No Chaser
Dislocation Blues
Atlanta Twelve String
Atlanta Twelve String Blind Willie McTell Atlantic Records By James Calemine Perhaps the most gifted of read more...
Criss-Cross
Criss-Cross Thelonious Monk Columbia Records By James Calemine Born October 10, 1917, in Rocky Mount, read more...
AKA Grafitti Man
AKA Grafitti Man John Trudell Rykodisc Records By James Calemine John Trudell, a read more...
The Facts of Life and Other Dirty Jokes
The Facts of Life and Other Dirty Jokes Willie Nelson Random House By James Calemine One can't trifle or read more...
New Lease On Life
New Lease On Life William Bell Wilbe Records William Bell's music epitomizes the classic read more...
The Queen Alone
Carla Thomas The Queen Alone Stax Records By James Calemine Carla Thomas--the great Rufus Thomas' read more...
Portraits and Songs From the Roots of America
Enclosed within the new Music Maker book titled Portraits and Songs From the Roots of America rests a CD featuring 22 read more...
Saul Williams, Greenville, S.C. 3/16/06
Saul Williams Barnes & Noble Bookstore, Greenville, S.C. March 16, 2006 Saul read more...
Edgar Winter Group - Live at The Galaxy
Edgar Winter Group Live At The Galaxy (Classic Pictures) Edgar read more...
The Black Crowes - Freak 'N' Roll...Into The Fog
The Black Crowes Freak’N’Roll ...Into The Fog The Black Crowes All Join Hands The Fillmore, San read more...
Gram Parsons - Fallen Angel
Gram Parsons Fallen Angel A Film By Gandulf Hennig (Rhino) Gram Parsons was one of a read more...
Open Casket
Minton Sparks Open Casket (Ruckus Films) Minton Sparks is a wonderful read more...
A Salute to Hee Haw - Collector's Edition
A Salute To Hee Haw Collector’s Edition (Time Life) This 5-disc DVD is jam read more...
Country Music Changed My Life
Country Music Changed My Life by Ken Burke (Chicago Review Press) My first read more...
Sing My Way Home: Voices of the New American Roots
Sing My Way Home Voices of the New American Roots Rock by Keith and Kent Zimmerman
Hey Rube
Hey Rube by Hunter S. Thompson (Simon and Schuster) When Hunter S. Thompson read more...
Honky Tonk Hero by Billy Joe Shaver
Honky Tonk Hero by Billy Joe Shaver (University of Texas Press) Billy Joe read more...
No Saints, No Saviors
No Saints, No Saviors My Years With The Allman Brothers Band by Willie Perkins
Between Rock And A Hard Place: Chuck Leavell
Between Rock And A Hard Place Chuck Leavell with J. Marshall Craig (Mercer University Press) read more...
Lovesick Blues: The Life of Hank Williams
Lovesick Blues: The Life Of Hank Williams by Paul Hemphill (Viking) So much has been read more...
The Unsolved Murder of Lynyrd Skynyrd Bassist Leon
The Unsolved Murder of Lynyrd Skynyrd Bassist Leon Wilkeson by Dale Bowman (Jaguar Publishing)
Rock 'N Blues Stew
Rock 'N Blues Stew by Mitchell D. Lopate (Authorhouse) In his debut book, Gritz read more...
Skydog: The Duane Allman Story
Skydog The Duane Allman Story by Randy Poe (Backbeat Books) I have been read more...
Jammin' For Danny Joe Brown
(GWP Records) One of the most emotional all-star jams in recent history took place at Orlando, Florida's Club read more...
John D. Wyker & Eddie Hinton - Johnny Wyker Video
(MFOV) Once in a very blue moon, something crosses my desk that is absolutely, without a doubt, totally unique. Well read more...
Tom Dowd & The Language of Music
(Palm Pictures) thelanguageofmusic.com The read more...
Live From The Garden State
The Marshall Tucker Band Live From The Garden State 1981 (Shout! Factory)
The Man, His World, His Music
(Sanctuary) Watching this DVD is a little like looking at home movies. Actually, a lot of it is old home read more...
CDB-DVD-Live
(Koch) I could not have imagined a better DVD from our old friends The Charlie Daniels Band. In this, their read more...
Live From Austin, Texas Cash, Hiatt, Yoakam, & Tex
Johnny Cash John Hiatt Eric Johnson Dwight Yoakam Texas Tornados Live From Austin read more...
Back Where It All Begins
Back Where It All Begins - Live At The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum
The Legends, Live in 1971
Ike and Tina Turner The Legends - Live in 1971 (Eagle Vision) Red hot, read more...
All Star Bluegrass Celebration
(Sugar Hill) Both the DVD and the CD of this live show, recorded onstage at the revered Ryman Auditorium in read more...
Heartworn Highways
(Catfish Entertainment/Snapper Music) In the early 1970’s outlaw country music came onto the scene to read more...
Live at The Beacon
( Sanctuary) The Allman Brothers Band’s annual spring pilgrimage to New York’s Beacon Theatre has read more...
Lyve: The Vicious Cycle Tour
(Sanctuary) Recorded live in Nashville at the Amsouth Amphitheater in July, 2003, Lyve is an excellent read more...
Alison Krauss and Union Station - Live
Alison Krauss and Union Station Live (Rounder Records DVD) Alison Krauss read more...
Soldier of the Cross - The Concert
Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder (Skaggs Family) Ricky Skaggs brings his award read more...
Pieces and Bits
(LLC) The long awaited video compilation produced by Val Minett (with Johnny's manager Teddy Slatus acting as read more...
One Ruined Life of a Bronze Tourist
One Ruined Life of a Bronze Tourist was originally recorded in 1978 for Atlanta’s Pine Tree Records. Terminus Records read more...
Southscape
Chuck Leavell commands respect in the music world. He’s played piano with the Rolling Stones (for half the band’s read more...
Arkansas
Colonel Bruce Hampton’s album Arkansas, like his 1978 One Ruined Life of A Bronze Tourist, has been recently read more...
If I Could Only Fly
The name Merle Haggard carries a heavy weight in country music. Haggard remains a maverick who stared into the face of decadence read more...
In The Beginning
Ten undiscovered Townes Van Zandt songs demoed for an early Nashville publishing contract in 1966 remained unheard for thirty-seven read more...
Ragged Old Flag
Originally released on Columbia Records in April 1974, Ragged Old Flag consists of twelve original Johnny Cash compositions. read more...
Hard Luck Guy
Eddie Hinton, the Muscle Shoals singer/songwriter, did not live to complete the 1999 Capricorn release Hard Luck Guy. In read more...
You're Gonna Need That Pure Religion
Born August 18, 1915 in Abbeville, Georgia, Reverend Pearly Brown lived his life preaching and singing about the word of God to read more...
Discourse ArticlesHurricane Season
An excerpt from HURRICANE SEASON: A COACH, HIS TEAM, AND THEIR TRIUMPH IN THE TIME OF KATRINA By Neal Thompson Free Press, a division of Simon & read more...
Driving With The Devil
An excerpt from DRIVING WITH THE DEVIL: Southern Moonshiners, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR By Neal Thompson Crown read more...
Jim Dickinson's All-Star Music & Film
In Jim Dickinson’s first contribution to Swampland/Mystery And Manners, he wrote an indelible piece on Memphis barbecue. For his second installment Dickinson cites his favorite pianists, films and a desert island music stash. The High Priest of Memphis Mojo offers a timeless blueprint for anyone seeking musical pots of gold. James Calemine
Natasha Trethewey—Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
by Penne J. Laubenthal Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Trethewey is a poet who gives voice to the voiceless, names to the nameless, and who creates monuments in words for those whom history has forgotten. Relying on photographs, personal memory, read more...
Poems by Natasha Trethewey
Miscegenation In 1965 my parents broke two laws of Mississippi; they went to Ohio to marry, returned to Mississippi. They crossed the river into Cincinnati, a city whose name begins with a sound like sin, the sound of wrong, mis in Mississippi. A year later they moved to Canada, followed a route the read more...
Brother To Jackals
BROTHER TO JACKALS By James Calemine I have become a brother to jackals, a companion read more...
Billy Bob Thornton in Florence, Alabama
by Penne J. Laubenthal Severe weather warnings had been issued for North Alabama when I made my way to Florence for the Friday afternoon session of the 11th Annual George Lindsey Film Festival featuring Billy Bob Thornton. But apparently neither sleet nor snow read more...
Sena Jeter Naslund and Growing Up in the Segregated South
Four Spirits, a novel by Birmingham native Sena Jeter Naslund based on the aftermath of the1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church that killed four little girls, made its world premiere as a theatrical production at the University of Alabama--Huntsville this past weekend. The stage play read more...
Luther Dickinson Interview: The Secret Code of Memphis Guitars
Luther Dickinson Interview The Secret Code of Memphis Guitars By James Calemine "I'm gonna leave Memphis and spread the news/Memphis women don't wear no shoes."
Deryle Perryman and Dangerous Highway, a Film About Eddie Hinton
by Penne J. Laubenthal Dangerous Highway is an amazing documentary about the life and music of the incredibly talented and tragically fated Eddie Hinton, called the "greatest unknown musician you have ever heard." The film was made by read more...
The Sounds of David Barbe
THE SOUNDS OF DAVID BARBE
Logan Smalley: Creator and Director of Darius Goes West
In 2005 Logan Smalley, a special education major at the University of Georgia-Athens, undertook a venture that would change his life, not to mention the lives of those who view his amazing film. Smalley rented a handicapped accessible RV, recruited ten
Darius Goes West: Twelve Guys and a Dream
Once in a great while, just when you think there is no reason to get up in the morning and that there is no hope for humanity, and that people will just go on killing one another forever, and that tomorrow will be probably be even worse than today, then something happens to turn your world around. For me, that something was seeing a feature length documentary read more...
Fifth Annual Oxford Film Festival
The Fifth Annual Oxford Film Festival (OFF) will open Wednesday evening, February 6, in Oxford, read more...
The Appalachian Sounds of Fonotone Records
The Appalachian Sounds of Fonotone Records By James Calemine “I went out in the open field/Black snake bit me on the heel, I’ve stood around and done my best/Shoved my head in a hornet’s read more...
Billy C Farlow is Having Too Much Fun
by Penne J. Laubenthal Billy C Farlow, blues musician, song writer, and harmonica player who skyrocketed to fame in the early ‘70s with Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, is a force to be reckoned with on the music circuit. Billy C has been out there for over forty years making his music, writing read more...
Goodbye, Babylon: A Patchwork Quilt of American Music
GOODBYE, BABYLON A Patchwork Quilt of American Music By James Calemine
Way Down South With John Sayles
Way Down South with John Sayles By James Calemine John Sayles’ films command respect. His latest film, Honeydripper, takes place in Alabama during the 1950s. Honeydripper counts as Sayles’16th film which read more...
A Celebration of The Life & Work of Paul Hemphill
A Celebration of The Life & Work of Paul Hemphill By James Calemine "I was ridin' number nine Headin' south from Caroline I heard that lonesome whistle blow."
Interview with Charles Ghigna
by Penne J. Laubenthal Charles Ghigna (aka Father Goose) is the author of more than 5,000 poems and 30 award-winning books of poetry. His books have been featured on ABC-TV’s "Good Morning America" and NPR, selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Parents' Choice Book Award. He is a poet, read more...
Hunting the Cotaco Creek
by Charles Ghigna His hand in hold so trigger tight even its blood believes in ghosts. It clings with set finger on steel and waits inside a dream of ducks. The twilight gives into a rise of eastern sky as sun reveals herself too proud and instantly receives full face a splash of mallard flock. A shotgun blasts the read more...
The Alabama Wiregrassers
by Charles Ghigna Dry rooted in penny coated clay, the wiregrassers come suntan tamed in drawl through the mire faster. Machetes high aimed for home, they carry the clues of day across their open, flying clothes. Blade for blade, steel for grass, they flog the wire with a hungry denim run.
Mitch Vingle, Charleston (WVa) Gazette
As a native West Virginian, Mitch Vingle brings a keen insight into the sports mindset of this read more...
The Great Southern Sportswriters Series
Writing and storytelling have always been deeply ingrained in Southern culture. The people that combined that art with the Swampland Footprint's passion for sports make the whole experience more special and unique. Swampland Sports is proud to offer this series of profiles of the best sportswriters our Footprint has to offer. You've already probably read them read more...
Baseball Dreams
by Charles Ghigna In memory of Jack Marsh, second baseman, Yale University, 1943 Before the bayonet replaced the bat, Jack Marsh played second base for Yale; his spikes anchored into the August clay, his eyes set deep against the setting sun. The scouts all knew his numbers well, had studied read more...
Shacks on Highway 231, Along the High Red Clay Embankments
By Bonnie Roberts These words are for those who never wrote a word, or sang a song, or thought a great thought, or invented something, or made something lasting. These words are for those who lived extraordinary non-extraordinary lives, of getting up each day, and walking through the day,
Truck Driving Man (An American Roadsong)
Truck Driving Man (An American Roadsong)
Troy Johnson, (Columbus, GA) Ledger-Enquirer
Writing as a sports columnist for the Columbus read more...
Berry Tramel, The Oklahoman
Columnist Berry Tramel is a lifelong Oklahoman who grew up in Norman and read more...
Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel
Floridian Mike Bianchi has seen the exponential growth in his state during his time as a read more...
Joe Biddle, (Nashville) Tennessean
Joe Biddle has been covering sports in Nashville since read more...
Ron Higgins, (Memphis) Commerical Appeal
Ron Higgins grew up around sports during his youth in Louisiana. He has spent read more...
Auger and Old Shoes
by Eric Smith I. On her rocker’s each forward pitch she glimpses the scuffed toes of shoes down the hall, unlaced, empty, still at the foot of the bed, a very old cliché, like the read more...
St. Simons Island: Seaside Reckoning
St. Simons Island:
My South
By Doris Gabel Welch My South is Hot Humid Sultry Just like its women. My South is
The Local Stranger
THE LOCAL STRANGER
The Second Word
THE SECOND WORD
POISON LEAVES
Poison read more...
POISON LEAVES (PART TWO)
Poison read more...
The King Is Dead! Hang The Doctor!
The King Is Dead! Hang the Doctor!
Phillip Quinn Morris
Phillip Quinn Morris, author of Mussels and
Billy Bob Thornton : Six Degrees of Swampland
Besides being one of the finest actors, directors and screenwriters of our time, read more...
The Bayou Sideshow
The Bayou Sideshow By James Calemine read more...
The Divine Spark of Sly & The Family Stone
By James Calemine
Cassandra King
Alabama native Cassandra King is not only the wife of author Pat Conroy, but she is also a celebrated novelist in her own right. She is currently touring the South to promote her most recent novel
Electric Blue
ELECTRIC BLUE By James Calemine Above the mirror behind a liquor display, a blue neon beer sign flickered and dimmed while Luke Tarver sat at the bar. He enjoyed watching Amanda, the lovely brunette bartender, distracted with an annoying flicker of the neon light. Beautiful confusion on her face proved worth the price of any beer. Amanda’s read more...
Clifton Taulbert at the 6th Annual Writers Conference
Ah, April in Alabama---blistering sun one day, pouring rain the next. A certainty regarding the South is that one just has to wait long enough and the weather will change. Outside the conference building at Calhoun Community College in Decatur, Alabama, a precious rain is falling, soaking the parched cotton fields and drenching the freshly turned gardens.
Kirk West
Kirk West Swampland Interview James Calemine April, 2007 KIRK WEST’S PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORIES Kirk West plays an integral part in The Allman Brothers Band organization. West began taking photographs in the '70s which included hundreds of musicians such as Merle Haggard, Bob Marley, Jerry Garcia and The Allman Brothers Band. read more...
Tim Duffy: Music Maker Relief Foundation
Tim Duffy Swampland Interview Music Maker Relief Foundation A Treasure Trove of American Music by James Calemine March, 2007 Music Maker Relief foundation, a non-profit organization, assists neglected southern musicians with daily expenses, instrument acquisition, recording, tour read more...
Kinky Friedman
"I won't be bullied and I can't be bought." PUSHING THE MIDDLE FINGER VOTE AND A NEW CD by Derek Halsey November 2006
Joe Bob Briggs
KING OF THE B-MOVIES, CHAMPION OF THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE THEATER, ACTOR, AUTHOR AND COMEDIAN JOE BOB BRIGGS by Michael Buffalo Smith September 2006 My first exposure to John Bloom aka: Joe Bob Briggs came in 1991, during a time when I was Editor of an Upstate South Carolina alternative news and read more...
Jimmy Palumbo
FROM FRIENDS TO THE BEER LEAGUE A CHAT ABOUT MOVIES, TV AND SOUTHERN ROCK by Michael Buffalo Smith September 2006
Billy Bob Thornton
The Wit and Wisdom of Actor, Director, Writer, Musician and Southern Rock Fan by Michael Buffalo Smith July 2006 I have been a fan of Billy Bob for years. I vaguely recall his acting in the old Burt Reynolds TV show Evening Shade, but it was the cult classic film Slingblade which he wrote, read more...
The Georgia Sea Island Singers - Preserving Coastal Music Traditions
The Georgia Sea Island Singers Preserving Coastal Music Traditions By James Calemine Spring 2006 After four decades, Frankie and Doug Quimby continue to travel the world as the Georgia Sea Island Singers, sharing the Gullah culture with audiences from presidents to preschoolers. The group’s read more...
Sam Shepard Stars in "Don't Come Knocking"
The Electric Cowboy Stars In Wim Wenders' Latest Film by James Calemine December '05 Sam Shepard’s career epitomizes the rugged soul of America’s West. The award winning playwright stars in Wim Wenders latest film, Don’t Come Knocking, as a 60 read more...
Mighty Field of Vision Internet and Radio Foundation Started
JOHN D. WYKER HEADS UP INTERNET RADIO STATION Decatur man's Internet station called a 'vision' of the future; music includes oldies, demos By Ronnie Thomas/Decatur Daily, Decatur, Al October, 2005 The rock 'n' roll wars behind him, John D. Wyker of Decatur has settled into a sedate life of overseeing read more...
Jerry Reed
WHEN YOU'RE HOT, YOU'RE HOT An Interview with Country Superstar/Actor Jerry Reed by Michael Buffalo Smith September, 2005 Jerry Reed is a true star. From his string of hit singles during the '60's and '70's to his groundbreaking role as The Snowman in the Smokey & The read more...
Breakfast With Hunter
Breakfast With Hunter: A Film By Wayne Ewing Starring Dr. Hunter S. Thompson by James Calemine Feb. 2005 “There may be flies on you and me, but there are no flies on Jesus.” -Hunter S. read more...
Sam Peckinpah
The Furious Legacy of an American Maverick by James Calemine December 2004 2004 marks the thirtieth anniversary of Sam Peckinpah’s Bring Me the read more...
Rich Robinson (Black Crowes)
AS THE CROWE FLIES RICH ROBINSON ON THE BLACK CROWES AND GOING SOLO By James Calemine This interview was conducted with Rich Robinson four months before the Black Crowes regrouped in February of 2005 to tour for their “All Join Hands” tour. -JC 15 years ago Rich Robinson and his brother Chris left Atlanta, read more...
Drive-By Truckers: Southern (Dis)Comfort
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS Southern (Dis)Comfort: It’s Only Rock and Roll by James Calemine I “People need trouble——a little frustration to sharpen the spirit on, toughen it. Artists do; I don’t mean you need to live in a rat hole or read more...
The Late Great Townes Van Zandt
A deluge of Townes Van Zandt releases flood the market since his death on January 1, 1997. A bitter legal battles ensues over Van Zandt's prolific song catalogue. Various related projects recently became available such as Norah Jones' Handsome Band: Live 2004, Margaret Brown's great DVD: Be Here To Love Me, and Townes in Amsterdam, a 1991 live performance. The following article read more...
George Lindsey
GEORGE LINDSEY A Chat with Mayberry’s Goober Pyle by Michael Buffalo Smith June 2002 There’s no doubt about it. George Lindsey will always been remembered first and foremost as the loveable goof known as Goober Pyle, whom he made famous read more...
Clarence Fountain (Blind Boys of Alabama)
Clarence Fountain Interview Higher Ground by James Calemine Spring 2002 On September 3, 2002, Real World Records released the new Blind Boys of Alabama album titled Higher Ground, featuring Robert Randolph & the Family Band as the backing musicians. This gospel collection covers read more...
Red Dog Campbell
The Original Road Dog Red Dog Campbell’s Thirty-Three Years with The Allman Brothers Band by Michael Buffalo Smith August 2001 He’s the most famous “roadie” on the planet, no matter how you slice the pie. Joseph “Red Dog” Campbell, the hard working, hard tripping, read more...
Geoff Hanson
Of Pigs and Panic An Interview with Film Maker Geoff Hanson by Michael Buffalo Smith July 2001 Christopher and Geoff Hanson are turning out to be an excellent pair of movie producers.Their first film, "Scrapple" is an excellent comedy surrounding some kids living in Colorado read more...
Stanley Booth: Can I Get A Witness
Can I Get A Witness The True Adventures of Stanley Booth By James Calemine Winter 2000 Jack Kerouac was a writer. That is, he wrote. Many people who call themselves writers and have their names on books aren’t writers and can’t write—the difference being a bullfighter who fights a bull is different than read more...
Dick Cooper
On and Off the Road with Dick Cooper by Mitch Lopate 2000 Dick Cooper wears many hats: music museum curator, band road manager, free-lance writer and photographer, motorcycle racer, traveler, martial arts disciple and all-around wellspring of rock-solid advice and counsel. He's been there with Lynryd Skynryd, especially at read more...
Laura Joplin (Janis Joplin)
Remembering Janis, with Love An Interview with Her Sister, Laura Joplin by Jill McLane Smith January 2000 Janis Joplin remains a rock and roll icon thirty years after her death. Her albums have gone gold, platinum, and triple-platinum. Her "Greatest Hits" album still tops the charts in read more...