Happy Birthday Jim White!

Celebrating singer/songwriter Jim White's birthday with a few songs from his "Precious Bane" album recorded with Trey Blake. 

About Precious Bane...

It started in London with a shy fan offering Americana outsider Jim White a gift—an obscure 19th Century novel called Precious Bane. Over the years they kept up a correspondence, with White becoming increasingly intrigued by this shy, impoverished woman who led a fairly desperate hand to mouth existence in the south of England.

That woman is Trey Blake, a neurodivergent artist living in obscurity in Brighton, UK. Growing up with undiagnosed autism, she managed her condition and the resultant inability to function in the mainstream world through various addictions. Along the way she sought to create art (songs, prose & photography) that encompassed both light and dark, drawing on her experiences of brokenness and loss on one hand and transcendent beauty and oneness on the other.

The two have paired up to deliver Precious Bane, a haunting effort that finds them trading songs from across the ocean---her parts being recorded by Joe Watson of Stereolab, whom Trey randomly met in a Brighton coffee shop. Like Jim, Joe was instantly struck by this exotic outsider. The resulting collaboration is an enigmatic sonic journey that transports the listener to a mythic, darkly lyrical soundscape.

Jim White and Joe Watson believe in Trey Blake. Hopefully you will too. She deserves an audience, a high-minded one in fact, one hungry for subtle revelation, one capable of appreciating the beauty of treasures unearthed in ragged, unlikely places; among the weeds, deep in the shadows of being, on the outermost fringes of existence. That’s Trey’s zone. 

Get a copy of Precious Bane via Bandcamp right here. Check out a couple of clips – including Jim White's video for "Tumbleweed Time" – following the tracklisting and album credits below.  

Precious Bane – Trey Blake & Jim White

1. Ghost Song 6:56

2. Rushing In Waves 5:10

3. The Long Road Home 6:51

4. One Last Love Song 6:23

5. Down To The River We Go 5:05

6. His Lady 5:19

7. Tumbleweed Time 6:44

8. Midnight Blue 7:49

9. My Time With The Angels 5:06

10. Ballad Of The Gunfighters 5:16

Credits:

TREY BLAKE: vocals, guitar; JIM WHITE: guitar, banjo, keys, marimba, percussion, woodwinds, harmonica, melodica, vocals, backing vocals; ROBERT EXON: backing vocals, rhythm guitar and guitar arrangements on His Lady, One Last Love Song, Rushing in Waves; MARLON PATTON: drums & bass; DAVID VAN WYKE: cello; ANDREA DEMARCUS: bowed bass; CLIVE BARNES: guitar; STEVE MAPLES: additional bass; NICOLAS ROMBOUTS: additional bass; ALEX WRIGHT: backing vocals; ENGINEER: JOE WATSON (UK) JIM WHITE (US); MIX & MASTER: JOHN KEANE

Beasts of Bourbon toast 35 years of The Low Road with expanded 2LP reissue!

The boffo new 2LP edition of The Low Road comes with a bonus album of rippin' Beasts live recordings circa 1991 & '92.

Here's the scoop...

Late in 1991, Beasts Of Bourbon unleashed their fourth album ‘The Low Road’.

Armed with a rejuvenated rhythm section relative to its predecessor (1990’s Black Milk) with Tony Pola and Brian Hooper on drums and bass guitar respectively, with this new lineup, the Australian rock supergroup enlisted producer Tony Cohen, an engineer best known for his exceptional production work with Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds and the Birthday Party – at Metropolis Studios (Melbourne) in April 1991. 

Among the album’s nefarious delights were the blistering Chase the Dragon’ (about heroin smuggling), a cover of AC/DC’s slow and insinuating `Ride On’ and the Hendrix-flavoured ‘Just Right’.

The album was supported by a tour with the inaugural Big Day Out alongside Nirvana and Violent Femmes alongside European dates where the band had earned a loyal fanbase. 

Ian McFarlane in The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock & Pop described the album as ‘brimming with urgency, surrealism, atmosphere, myth, illusion and honesty, but above all, hard-nosed rock riffs’.

Now in 2026 to mark the 35th anniversary of the album, we’re proud to present the album in expanded form on vinyl 2LP 180-gram black vinyl. 

The original 10-track album makes up the first LP, with the second LP consisting of seven live tracks recorded at the infamous Phoenician Club, Sydney through 1991 and 1992 alongside an epic live rendering of the Stones ‘Cocksucker Blues’ recorded at Theatre Fabrik, Munich in 1992.

The package is all housed in a beautiful gatefold sleeve with photography from Red Eye Records founder John Foy, Bleddyn Butcher and Mr Speedieflex.

The Beasts of Bourbon - Low Road - Available March 27th. Check out Tex Perkins site for more info Watch a few video clips from the album along with some footage of the Beasts tearing up the Phoenician Club back in 1991 and 1992. 

Happy Birthday Dick Hyman!

Cheers to pianist/keyboardist Dick Hyman on his birthday! Here's an interview and his classic Age of Electronicus album. 

Celebrating International Women's Day with Carmen y Laura

Here are a few spellbinding classics from pioneering Tejano duo Carmen Hernández and Laura Hernández Cantú on Ideal Records. 

B-Side Wins Again: Gene Henslee

Boswell, Oklahoma-born Gene Henslee wrote and recorded "Gettin' Drunk & Outta Hand" for Fort Worth's GG Records.

Remembering Townes Van Zandt on his birthday

Raising a glass to Townes on his birthday with a couple of classic performances and some entertaining stories.

Ornette Coleman gets 24-hour birthday salute on WKCR-FM on Monday

WKCR-FM joins in the celebration of Ornette Coleman's birthday with a special 24-hour broadcast on Monday. Right on!  

Here's the scoop from New York's WKCR-FM...

WKCR is pleased to announce our annual 24-hour broadcast honouring what would have been the 96th birthday of Ornette Coleman. This broadcast will preempt all regularly scheduled programming on Monday, March 9.

Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman, born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1930, was an alto saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer who would became one of the giants in jazz music as a pioneer of what critics often regard as “free jazz.” What initially earned him labels such as “disruptive” or “a fraud” would write him into history as a genius and an innovator.

Coleman’s 1959 Atlantic release “The Shape of Jazz to Come” as well as his 1960 release “Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation” is often credited with profoundly steering the future course of avant-garde jazz, making him a key figure in the history of the entire jazz idiom. However, his influence was not strictly limited to jazz music. His last performance in 2014 shared a bill with the likes of Patti Smith, Laurie Anderson, Nels Cline, and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Despite his significance in the history of free jazz, Coleman sought to evolve beyond any musical categorization. In the 70s he took to playing with electrified instruments on albums such as “Prime Time,” and in the 80s albums such as “Virgin Beauty” and “Of Human Feelings” made heavy use of rock and funk rhythms.

To commemorate Ornette Coleman’s birthday and his importance on a world of artists that came after him, WKCR’s special broadcast will present an in depth look at his long and remarkable career. Listeners can tune in to the WKCR birthday broadcast of Ornette Coleman on 89.9FM or stream it live on the WKCR website. Follow WKCR on Instagram (@wkcr) and Twitter (@WKCRFM) for updates about this special broadcast and future events. Online listening is available 24/7 at wkcr.org via our web stream. 

Check out some interviews with Ornette Coleman below.