Might as Well Say Something about Nashville... Jack White, Third Man Studios, JEFF the Brotherhood, URP

Since inviting those other three on board, we've been treated to Portland, Seattle and Chapel Hill nuggets... which was just the kind of thing I was hoping for.

But I'd like you to know about some of what's going on in Nashville. It's a little different than a lot of other local rock scenes, as you might imagine of a city that's still the Vatican of the big-time radio-ready country music industry.

First, a long article from the Nashville Scene about Jack White's Third Man Records. Yes, the guy is ridiculously cool... Conan O'Brien did play a gig there on his way to Bonnaroo... Jack did get onstage with Bob Dylan at the Ryman recently; among other songs, he played a stunning lead on "Outlaw Blues", played and sang "Meet Me in the Morning" and sang a duet with Bob on "One More Cup of Coffee"... this is all true. But he's jumped right in with the folks who have been trying for the last 20 years or more to share Nashville's rock scene with the world, they seem to have accepted him and his help, and it's exciting to see.

Second, one of the acts White has been working with and will feature on a live release soon, JEFF the Brotherhood, is playing what might best be described as heavy electric garage metal blues rock. Take a listen and see if you've got a better description. This is bracing stuff. Here's a cut from their split 7" with WYMA favorite Best Coast:

Jeff the Brotherhood - Bummer by VolcomEnt

Also, JEFF has a live disc out on Third Man Records.

Finally, I thought you should know that real record pressing is still going on in Music City USA. United Record Pressing does all the vinyl for Third Man, just around the corner, actually. There are hundreds of interesting stories relating to URP's history... including the apartment suite the owners had built for a very specific purpose... From the History section of the website: When the current URP plant opened in the 1960's it was a very different time in the South, Nashville included. In the early 60's there were hardly any restaurants or hotels in Nashville that would offer their services to African Americans. With top clients like Vee Jay Records and Motown being run by people of color, the company was in need of accommodations for their clients and created what we now call the "Motown Suite", an apartment located above the factory. The Motown Suite which is still viewable to guests touring the plant, displays the same furnishings that these execs were offered including a common room with a bar, a turntable, enough seating to entertain guests, a full bathroom, a double occupancy bedroom, a kitchen equipped with an old push button stove and other novel 60's decor.

They produced the vinyl copies of the Exile on Main Street reissue last year. And they give tours.