AUSSIES CAN DO BLUEGRASS: MUSTERD COURAGE NEW RELEASE AND US TOUR

 

Hey gang give this band a listen...I really love Mustered Courage

This July, both MUSTERED COURAGE and their second album POWERLINES will trade Australian winters for American summers. On July 22, 2014, these Bluegrass boys from Down Under will be releasing Powerlines in the US via Travianna Records to coincide with an American tour. Kicking off on July 24 in Cambridge, MA, the tour will be punctuated with several festivals, including Shangri-La Fest (Clarks Grove, MN) and the IBMA Bluegrass Ramble in Raleigh, NC, in which they'll share the stage with Emmylou Harris, Split Lip Rayfield, and Willie Watson of Old Crow Medicine Show, among others.

Despite calling Australia their home, when it comes to their music, Mustered Courage is American as apple pie and as bluegrass as the benches in the 'Mother Church of Country Music' - The Ryman. The band's impeccable ability smudges the lines between Alison Krauss and The Avett Brothers, finding a kinship closer to Nashville than Melbourne. This is never more prevalent than on Powerlines' US-exclusive track "Rosa," which features Kasey Chambers and accompanies the 12 original tracks from the 2013 Australian release. The full tracking list and tour dates can be found below.

Mustered Courage breathes new life into the progressive bluegrass scene with a style that appeals to both traditionalists and newcomers alike. Music Australia Guide describes them as "the link between Bill Monroe and Mumford & Sons." The Melbourne-based quartet has quickly risen to the top of Australia's folk and roots scene on the strength of their dynamic live shows and albums that have won them a string of glowing reviews, national radio support, an endorsement from Seal, and two "Golden Guitar" nominations at the 2014 Country Music Awards of Australia.

Mustered Courage is Nick Keeling (vocals/banjo), Julian Abrahams (vocals/ guitar), Josh Bridges (vocals/bass), and Paddy Montgomery (mandolin/vocals). Powerlines will be released on July 22, 2014 on Travianna Records. Their American tour will begin July 24th.

POWERLINES
Tracklist

1. Standing By Your Side
2. Cruel Alibis
3. Behind the Bullet
4. Rosa (featuring Kasey Chambers)
5. My Hometown
6. Allegheny
7. Towin' the Chain
8. Southern Style
9. Powerlines
10. Go to Hell
11. Miss My Ways

Mustered Courage breathes new life into the progressive bluegrass scene with a style that appeals to both traditionalists and newcomers alike. Music Australia Guide describes them as "the link between Bill Monroe and Mumford & Sons." The Melbourne-based quartet has quickly risen to the top of Australia's folk and roots scene on the strength of their dynamic live shows and albums that have won them a string of glowing reviews, national radio support, an endorsement from Seal, and two "Golden Guitar" nominations at the 2014 Country Music Awards of Australia.

Mustered Courage is Nick Keeling (vocals/banjo), Julian Abrahams (vocals/ guitar), Josh Bridges (vocals/bass), and Paddy Montgomery (mandolin/vocals). Powerlines will be released on July 22, 2014 on Travianna Records. Their American tour will begin July 24th.

US TOUR DATES
07/24 Boston, MA Atwood Tavern
07/25 Winooski, VT The Monkey House
07/26 South Harem, ME Ossipee Valley Music Festival
07/28 New York, NY Hill Country
07/30 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live
07/31 Washington, DC Hill Country (Early, Late shows)
08/01 Bristol, TN Border Bash
08/02 Knoxville, TN Barley’s Taproom
08/05 Atlanta, GA Smith’s Olde Bar
08/06 New Orleans, LA BEATnik
08/07 The Woodlands, TX Dosey Doe
08/08 Austin, TX Lambert’s
08/09 Dallas, TX The Foundry Bar
08/12 Los Angeles, CA The Hotel Cafe
08/13 San Francisco, CA Hotel Utah
08/14 Reno, NV Peppermill Resort Spa & Casino
09/15 Reno, NV Peppermill Resort Spa & Casino
08/16 Reno, NV Peppermill Resort Spa & Casino
08/18 Santa Cruz, CA The Crepe Place
08/22 Portland, OR Mississippi Studios
08/23 Port Townsend, WA Sirens Tavern
08/24 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern
08/27 Paonia, CO Revolution Brewing
08/28 Paonia, CO Pickin’ in the Park
08/29 Denver, CO Lost Lake Lounge
09/04 Sioux City, IA Vangarde Arts
09/05 Clarks Grove, MN Shangri-La Fest
09/13 New Hope, PA Triumph Brewing Company
09/18 Gatlinburg, TN Sugarland Distilling
09/19 Bristol, TN Bristol Rhythm & Blues Reunion
09/20 Bristol, TN Bristol Rhythm & Blues Reunion
09/21 Nashville, TN AMA Sounds Australia Farewell Bash
09/22 Nashville, TN Whiskey Jam at Winners
09/24 Charleston, WV The Boulevard Tavern
09/30 Raleigh, NC IBMA Bluegrass Ramble
10/01 Raleigh, NC IBMA Bluegrass Ramble
10/02 Raleigh, NC IBMA Bluegrass Ramble
10/03 Raleigh, NC IBMA Wide Open Bluegrass Festival

THE 1930'S SUPER LUXURIOUS PACKARD AUTOMOBILES

Packard was an American luxury automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last in 1958.

Entering the 1930s, Packard attempted to beat the stock market crash and subsequent Great Depression by manufacturing ever more opulent and expensive cars than it had prior to October 1929. While the Eight five-seater sedan had been the company's top-seller for years, the Twin Six, designed by Vincent, was introduced for 1932, with prices starting at $3,650 at the factory gate; in 1933, it would be renamed the Packard Twelve, a name it retained for the remainder of its run (through 1939).

Also in 1931, Packard pioneered a system it called Ride Control, which made the hydraulic shock absorbers adjustable from within the car. For one year only, 1932, Packard fielded an upper-medium-priced car, the Light Eight.

Packard had one advantage that some other luxury automakers did not: a single production line. By maintaining a single line and interchangeability between models, Packard was able to keep its costs down.

Packard did not change cars as often as other manufacturers did at the time. Rather than introducing new models annually, Packard began using its own "Series" formula for differentiating its model changeovers in 1923. SEE PACKARD ENGINE HERE

1934 Packard Twelve

To address the Depression, Packard started producing more affordable cars in the medium-price range. In 1935, the company introduced its first sub-$1,000 car, the 120. Sales more than tripled that year and doubled again in 1936. In order to produce the 120, Packard built and equipped an entirely separate factory.

The early 1930's were devastating for many marques and for Packard it was no different. The onset of the Great Depression meant that many manufacturers were left with few buyers and as a result many went out of business. 

The cars that Packard produced were positioned for the high to upper class who could afford these beautiful but expensive creations. During the 1920's the company prospered but as the 1930's came into sight, the sales began to decline.

The 2013 Best In Show winner here at Pebble is the 1934 Packard 1108 Twelve Dietrich Convertible Victoria owned by Joseph and Margie Cassini of West Orange, NJ. We'll give you a second to memorize that name.

At the start of the Classic era, Packard was among the leading luxury marque. This all changed during the early years of the Great Depression, when Packard sales began to drastically decline. In 1930, the first year of the Depression, Packard sold just 28,386 cars. 

This was down dramatically from 1929. By this time Packard was one of the oldest car companies in America, with the first Packard built in 1899. The company was founded as the Ohio Automobile Company in Warren, Ohio. It became the Packard Motor Car Company in 1902 and moved to Detroit in 1903.

1930 Packard 745 Deluxe Eight

The car above was found in a salvage yard in 1954 and sat outside a barn until 1995. The current owner purchased the car in 1996 and began an extensive restoration. The restoration was completed in 1998 after 6,600 man-hours of labor.

FAMOUS STARS AND THEIR CARS

LEGENDARY CHARACTER ACTOR ELI WALLACH DEAD AT 98

Eli Wallach December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014

Amazing actor Eli Wallach, veteran stage, screen and television actor who was famous for acting in Tennessee Williams' plays on the New York stage but gained fame in Hollywood for a string of films in which he specialized in playing bandits, thieves, mafia dons and other criminals, has died from natural causes. He was 98. Wallach is survived by his wife, three children, five grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

Baby Doll

Wallach, who received an honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement in 2010, died at 4:47 p.m. Tuesday in the family's home in New York City, according to his daughter Katherine. The cause was not given.

Mr Freeze on Batman TV show

Eli Wallach's career spanned more than six decades, beginning in the late 1940s. For his performance as Silva Vacarro in Baby Doll, he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination. Among his most famous roles are Calvera in The Magnificent Seven (1960), Guido in The Misfits (1961), and Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966).

 

Don Altobello

Other notable portrayals include Don Altobello in The Godfather Part III, Cotton Weinberger in The Two Jakes (both 1990), and Arthur Abbott in The Holiday (2006). One of America's most prolific screen actors, Wallach remained active well into his nineties, with roles as recently as 2010 in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and The Ghost Writer.

Eli Wallach as Calvera

Wallach received BAFTA Awards, Tony Awards and Emmy Awards for his work, and received an Honorary Academy Award at the 2nd Annual Governors Awards, presented on November 13, 2010.

Tuco Ramirez 

Cinderella Liberty

Some of my favorite Eli Wallach movies

Baby Doll (1956)

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

How the West Was Won (1962)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) 

Cinderella Liberty (1973)

 The Domino Principle (1976)

The Holiday (2006)

Eli and Anne

Eli Wallach was married to stage actress Anne Jackson (born 1926) from March 5, 1948 until his death. They had three children: Peter (born 1951), Roberta (born 1955), and Katherine (born 1958).

JAMES GANDOLFINI'S FINAL FILM TRAILER IS RELEASED

It’s been a year since actor James Gandolfini tragically died of a heart attack last June at the age of 51. There is just no other actor that can replace him...we miss him..but now the trailer for his final movie has been released and he is so good....

“The Sopranos” star’s final performance in the upcoming film, “The Drop.”

The crime drama follows Tom Hardy as an ex-con trying to make good by living a life out of danger as a bartender. But after he becomes entangled in the aftermath of a robbery, that doesn’t exactly work out. Gandolfini plays his cousin who also gets swept into the mess.

The film hits theaters Sept. 12.

YPSILANTI YANKEE AIR FORCE FINALLY BOUGHT THE WILLOW RUN BOMBER PLANT!

Great news! The Yankee Air Force group in Ypsilanti signed papers today to purchase the best section of the former Hydramatic Transmission plant aka the old Ypsilanti Bomber Plant. They have waited for many years and worked so hard to obtain this location for their museum....We are so happy for them!!

The Yankee Air Museum, through the Save the Willow Run Bomber Plant campaign, raised close to $8 million by the May 1 deadline set by the factory’s owner, the Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response Trust. The trust took over sites around the U.S. left behind in General Motors’ bankruptcy. READ MORE HERE

COMEDY LEGEND STEVE ROSSI PASSED AWAY FROM CANCER AT 82

 

Allen & Rossi were on Ed Sullivan with the Beatles Feb 9 1964...Steve Rossi's favorite gig of all time...Sadly his passed away yesterday from cancer at 82. Marty Allen is still working at age 92!! OY VEY....Rip Steve we enjoyed your act a lot....

Read full bio and story on the Las Vegas Sun Web page

QUEEN OF PENTACLES AND THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE

 

The Queen of Pentacles card suggests that my power today lies in generosity. I am in a position to be gracious and to consider the welfare of others as I surround myself with or reproduce the conditions I wish to create. I am empowered by embracing my own splendor and earthy sensuality and this gives me the validation to nurture, share, or bring new life into the world. My asset is fertile and perennial gratitude.

The Wheel card affirms that my alter ego is an Observer Participant, whose superpower, uncertain opportunity, acts as huckster in a carnival ride of free will, motive and time by assuming roles of game host and player linked by chains of events, or to hedge bets against a Greater Fool. Anything goes. Everything counts. Fate, Luck or a "Cosmic Santa" of Fortune assigned by relative to preordained or random turns are subject to short-sighted cheats or social brands of justice.

But it's my entitlement, input, fear, or anticipation along the chain that "spins" labels into gold or coal! Today is a chance to fix, stir or dip into the Quantum Soup, boiling six degrees of separation from connecting to enough, waiting for the Karmic bill or dessert to close the meal in hindsight. But to self-correct by priority I put it on my list, pay my dues by choice and can see it coming to pass full circle.