AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: DALE WATSON/CALL ME LUCKY

The term ‘Honky-Tonk’ means different things to different people. For some, Honky-Tonk is raw and raucous sub-genre of Country Music. For others, it is a smoky bar with beer-stained floorboards, rowdy patrons, and the constant flow of Country Music. From juke boxes to live music performed by local and traveling musicians, Honky-Tonk bars gave birth to a distinctive style of Country Music. Then again, one can say that Honky-Tonk music helped establish the spirit of a Honky-Tonk bar. So, in this case, it doesn’t matter which came first – both the music and the drinking establishments are now intrinsically linked to each other. However, a bar cannot easily hitch itself to a truck and move from town to town like a Honky-Tonk musician can. This means that the spirit of Honky-Tonk must exist within the music and it is up to the many traveling minstrels to spread its ‘gospel’.  And this brings us to a man who preaches that gospel better than anyone out there: Dale Watson. 

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AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: JESSE DAYTON/THE OUTSIDER

Even if you don’t instantly recognize Jesse Dayton’s name, you have probably heard his work over the years. He has created music for some of Rob Zombie’s films (including THE DEVIL’S REJECTS and HALLOWEEN II), played on recordings by Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, the Supersuckers, and Willie Nelson, and even filled in for Billy Zoom during one of X’s U.S. tours. And that is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There’s much more to Jesse Dayton’s career than his work with other artists…

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