Who Are These Guys?

[journeybear]

So ... I finally got to see "Crazy Heart" - a must-see for anyone who likes "real" country music - and as much as I enjoyed the movie, I was even more knocked out by some of the songs in it, especially "Hold On You," "Somebody Else," "I Don't Know," and "Fallin' & Flyin.'" I love classic country, and the lyrical twists it employs, and a catch phrase like "Funny how fallin' feels like flyin', for a little while" - well, that is just gonna stick with me for a long time. ;)

That's no surprise, given the talent behind their writing (http://www.newwestrecords.com/crazy-heart)and production (http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/12/12/crazy-heart-music-producer-t-bone-burnett-jeff-bridges-break-down-the-soundtrack/tab/article/). The original songs were written by various combinations of Stephen Bruton, T Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham, and Gary Nicholson, plus a few others, and afew choice covers and classic songs were used as well. As I read the credits I recognized a few names of the musicians - Greg Leisz, Buddy Miller, Jay Bellerose - again, no surprise, nor that Jeff Bridges and Colin Farrell did their own singing.

Then today I was reading an interview of John Fogerty in the January issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine, mostly centered on his new album "The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again," which features a band approach instead of John playing and singing everything himself. And some of the same names pop up: Greg Leisz, Buddy Miller, Jay Bellerose, and Dennis Crouch, plus a few more. Here are the lineups:

Crazy Heart: Greg Leisz, Jay Bellerose, Buddy Miller, Dennis Crouch, Joel Guzman, Thomas Canning, and Patrick Warren.

John Fogerty: Kenny Aronoff, Buddy Miller, Greg Leisz, Hunter Perrin, Jason Mowery, Chris Chaney, Jay Bellerose, Dennis Crouch, Jodie Kennedy, Herb Pedersen, and Oren Waters.

So I'm wondering - who are these guys, and why are they following me around? I mean, I know I've seen their names on plenty of albums over the years - Greg Leisz on slide and pedal steel has played with a slew of people; Buddy Miller on guitar and vocals has toured with Emmylou Harris and many others in addition to his duo and life partner Julie Miller; Jay Bellerose was Paula Cole's drummer for years and his unique use of a hand drum instead of snare as the centerpiece of his drum kit revolutionized folk-rock percussion; Herb Pederson was in Desert Rose Band and has played with just about everyone in the California country-rock scene; Kenny Aronoff's solid 60s style drum approach is very much in demand, live and in studio, and has played with everyone from John Mellencamp (for 17 years and 10 albums) to Avril Lavigne to Jefferson Airplane (really - I'd have never known if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes) - but how is it they keep showing up on albums I like? Do we just have similar tastes in music? Isn't anyone else playing music like this, or are they just the best? And who are the other guys?

[Mike Bunting]

Herb Pedersen has a pedigree that extends far beyond Desert Rose.
http://www.herbpedersen.com/
I believe he once filled in for an injured Earl Scruggs on a west coast tour.

[GVD]

Dennis Crouch is probably the hottest bass player in Nashville right now. He's played with everyone from Robert Plant/Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello, Tim O'Brien, Darrell Scott, Steve Earl and everyone in between to a regular weekly gig at the Station Inn with the Time Jumpers western swing band.

I saw one really cool picture on FB of him right in the middle of a crowd that included Ronnie McCoury, Jim Lauderdale, Riley Baugus, Willie Nelson, TBone Burnett, Micky Rapheal, Stuart Duncan, Russ Pahl, Bob Newirth.

[Dan Hoover]

i guess it's that you have good taste in music JB??? :grin:..can't wait to see this movie...any good??
hunter perrin and kenny aronoff, great drummer,were in a band "thunderado" together..he play's Gretsch's,my brother play's Gretsch's,i guess anyone who plays them are in a secret club??
patrick warren played on the last bob dylan record,the christmas one,plays w/tom waits too..
john fogerty has been around awhile...:grin:..i believe jeff bridges made a album a couple years ago?have to go look/check that out...

[Capt. E]

i guess it's that you good have good taste in music JB??? :grin:..can't wait to see this movie...any good??
hunter perrin and kenny aronoff, great drummer,were in a band "thunderado" together..he play's Gretsch's,my brother play's Gretsch's,i guess anyone who plays them are in a secret club??
patrick warren played on the last bob dylan record,the christmas one,plays w/tom waits too..
john fogerty has been around awhile...:grin:..i believe jeff bridges made a album a couple years ago?have to go look/check that out...

Any good? Yes!! Must see in my opinion.

Most of the above musicians come through Austin (or live here). I know or have met several (I've played my mando on stage with Joel Guzman). Anything T Bone does is usually gold.

[journeybear]

It's pretty darned good, though it gets a little loose toward the end, and the performance by Jeff Bridges and the singing by both him and Colin Farrell are top-notch. I had no idea they had any talent in that area. And they both sing a lot better than Ryan Bingham, if last night's appearance on Kimmel was any indication. But yes - it's a definite must-see, the best movie about popular music since "Once" (another must-see).

One odd thing, though - "The Weary Kind," which is billed as the theme from the movie and is nominated for an Oscar, gets pretty short shrift on screen, even though its lyrics contain the movie's title. We see it in the process of it being written, we hear a snippet of it being performed, and I think it gets played over the credits - but the other ones I mentioned get actual performance time and leave a bigger impression as a result (and they also seem to be stromger songs anyway). Makes me wonder why it was chosen to represent the movie.

T Bone also played with Delaney & Bonnie and then later with Dylan in the Rolling Thunder Revue and then formed Alpha Band - this "ancient history" seems to be largely overlooked these days. Fellow Alphae Steven Soles and David Mansfield played on Dylan's 1978 "Street Legal," but not T Bone. ICYWW, his given name is Joseph Henry Burnett.

[catmandu2]

I'm looking forward to seeing this...I like just about everything JB does. Big fan of the genre too (even though I'm not honky-tonk country, I appreciate its blues-roots) -- really like Tender Mercies, CM's Daughter, et al.

My wife and I saw "Once" and were ready to kill the guy by the end of the movie..

[journeybear]

Aw, shucks! :redface: I mean, thanks! ;) Tender Mercies' Robert Duvall is in this one, too, as Jeff Bridges' character's good friend and fishing buddy, and gets to sing a verse from a Billy Joe Shaver song a capella, an exquisitely appropriate choice. I too prefer older country music or anything that comes from the heart to whatever arises from people trying to figure out how to make a buck. In general. :mandosmiley:

I guess I liked "Once" more than you. The scene in the music store is a gem. Also, their Oscar acceptance speeches were priceless and eternal.

[catmandu2]

Aw, shucks! :redface: I mean, thanks! ;) .

I'm sure that what you do is good too...but I haven't had the pleasure of knowing that yet--I was actually referring to Jeff Bridges.

That movie was probably better than I give it credit for--but hearing "that song" for 2-1/2 hours was more than I could bear! :crying:

[pglasse]

I haven't seen the movie yet. As far as filling in regarding some of the names....

The late Stephen Bruton was an Austin-based musician and friend of mine. Though primarily known as a guitarist and songwriter, he also played mandolin and owned a very early Monteleone F-5 copy. There's a lot of info about him available on the web. Personally, I can say he was a talented musician, great guy, well-loved in the music community. I feel privileged to have known and worked with him.

Joel Guzman is also Austin-based and is a remarkable button accordionist, keyboard player and singer. He leads his own group, has recorded and toured with Joe Ely and does lots of studio work.

Buddy Miller also used to live in Austin in the late 1970s -- long ago became a well-known guitar picker, singer-songwriter.

A group of really talented folks -- very schooled in roots-related genres.

Paul Glasse
Austin, Texas
http://paulglasse.com/

[journeybear]

I'm sure that what you do is good too...but I haven't had the pleasure of knowing that yet--I was actually referring to Jeff Bridges.

Oh, THAT JB! Oops - my bad ... :redface: ... I kind of thought you meant you agreed with the things I liked, but anyway, glad we cleared THAT up! :whistling:


That movie was probably better than I give it credit for--but hearing "that song" for 2-1/2 hours was more than I could bear!

Oh, now, really - it was only 1 1/2 hours - though it apparently seemed longer to you :) - and they really didn't play "that song" or any song more than twice, but still, if that's the way you feel ... fine. :mad:

Stephen Bruton was also very much involved in Geoff Muldaur's latest project, and he died while both these - and who knows what else - were nearing completion. Some say Jeff Bridges' character was more or less based on him, but I daresay that could be said about a lot of people. I mean, a LOT of people. ;)

[catmandu2]

- and they really didn't play "that song" or any song more than twice...

Oh. :redface:

Seemed to me that every time it was time for a music interlude, it was...that song ... ( I don't like you, but I LOVE you...), ad nauseum.

My bad. It's just that everything seems to sound to me like Coldplay, or Kings of Leon, or....

[journeybear]

No big whoop - still waiting for a bluegrass version, though ... ;)

"Take this sinking boat and point it home, we've still got ti-i-ime ... " :mandosmiley:

I can hear it now ...

(catmandu2 says, "Make it stop!" :crying: )

But back to the topic (more or less), I'm going to start looking for the lyrics to "Fallin' & Flyin'" - that's my next song-larnin' project. Just a great refrain. It's so good to hear some good old down home country again, even if it's coming from Hollywood - not the usual source! :disbelief:

[journeybear]

BTW & FWIW - Ryan Bingham and T-Bone Burnett are scheduled to be on The View this morning, 11 AM EST. I hope the hostesses don't fawn over Mr. Bingham the way they often do over handsome guests. ;) I also hope his singing has improved since Tuesday's Kimmel appearance ... :disbelief:

[Alex Orr]

They're Nashville and Austin cats. Once you're in that crowd, I suspect you get more calls for session work than you can handle. I was pleasantly surprised to see Ryan Bingham's name in there. I've really enjoyed his two albums. Yes, both of them have several cuts that don't really work all that well, but that's more than offset by a bunch of very, very good songs. If you were to put the best material of his two records together, you'd have one of the best alt-country albums of the last ten years.

[Rob Gerety]

Not sure why but the movie left me cold - it seemed 100% predictable, like I had seen the same thing a million times. The music was nice. I like real county music too. Always have. I think I heard some Townes VanZandt tunes in there and that perked up my ears.

[journeybear]

Here's the song list, (http://www.newwestrecords.com/crazy-heart) which includes "If I Needed You."

The movie does cover familiar ground, but the good music and performances by the main characters carry it. Another way to put that is the good music and performances by the main characters carry it, but the movie does cover familiar ground. ;) The best part of the movie, for me, is the first 20 minutes or so, which concentrate on Jeff Bridges' character struggling through a series of less-than-ideal road gigs, and a big part of that is the music. When the movie begins to spend more time on him wrestling with his demons and the love story and less on the music - yeah, I lost a bit of interest too. But his performance is still compelling, and the way he inhabits his character so naturally is really a wonder to behold.

1. Hold On You (Stephen Bruton, T Bone Burnett, John Goodwin and Bob Neuwirth) Performed by Jeff Bridges
2. Hello Trouble Performed by Buck Owens
3. My Baby’s Gone Performed by The Louvin Brothers
4. Somebody Else (Stephen Bruton and T Bone Burnett) Performed by Jeff Bridges
5. I Don’t Know (Stephen Bruton and T Bone Burnett) Performed by Ryan Bingham
6. Fallin’ & Flyin’ (Stephen Bruton and Gary Nicholson) Performed by Jeff Bridges
7. I Don’t Know (Stephen Bruton and T Bone Burnett) Performed by Jeff Bridges
8.Once A Gambler (Sam Hopkins) Performed By Lightnin’ Hopkins
9. Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way (Waylon Jennings) Performed by Waylon Jennings
10. Fallin’ & Flyin’ (Stephen Bruton and Gary Nicholson) Performed by Colin Farrell & Jeff Bridges
11. Gone, Gone, Gone (Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett) Performed by Colin Farrell
12. If I Needed You (Townes Van Zandt) Performed by Townes Van Zandt
13. Reflecting Light (Sam Phillips) Performed by Sam Phillips
14. Live Forever (Billy Joe Shaver and Eddy Shaver) Performed by Robert Duvall
15. Brand New Angel (Greg Brown) Performed by Jeff Bridges
16. The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart) (Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett) Performed by Ryan Bingham