Curio's Latest Album, "Tall Tales!"

Rusty Knuckles presents Curio's, latest album, 'Tall Tales.'

'Tall Tales' is a collection of down and dirty, Chicago bastard blues tunes, about bad men & bad luck, inspired by the rags to rags struggles of dreamers and schemers.

It's a record written by outcasts and outsiders, for outcasts and outsiders. Album artwork by Curio bassist, Donovan Foote.

Binghamton Musician Ships Cigar-box Guitars Around the World

                             Pinecone Fletcher talks about why he likes cigar-box guitars and what drew him to the craft. Andrew Thayer / Staff Video

Bluesman Pinecone Fletcher finds joy in re-creating instrument for 21st century

Back when cigars were plentiful and money was not — especially during the Civil War, for example, or the Great Depression — some musicians decided to work with what they had close at hand and built their own cigar-box guitars.

The concept was pretty simple: Cobble together a box, a stick and some strings, then tune it up and start playing. The raw, organic sound proved to be much different than what a store-bought instrument would deliver, giving a different twist to blues, country and folk tunes.

As Americana and roots music have undergone a revival in the last 15 years, led by the 2000 film “O Brother Where Are Thou?” and bands like Mumford & Sons, the interest in cigar-box guitars has grown, too. Ambitious do-it-yourselfers still prefer to put together their own, but a few companies have sprung up to fill the need.

Husky Burnette Launches Brand New Live Video For "Kick Rocks"

We know that you need this new album from Husky Burnette. Order yours now!

Check out the new merch and album package deals below...

Catl European Tour Invasion Continues In Part 4

Catl European Tour Invasion Continues In Part 4

We had 9 minutes to transfer to our connecting train to make the show on time and we made it! With all of our shit that we're carrying it was no small feat. We then proceeded to get drunk on the train once the hard work was over. Sarah ate a curry that wasn't bad. We arrived in Vienna and met up with our host Stefan. Super nice guy, who just happened to be the manager of the club we're playing at. We walked to the club in the rain and I ate a falafel from a Turkish food stand that was pretty tasty.

Husky Burnette Set To Re-Release "Tales From East End Boulevard"

Husky Burnette Set To Re-Release "Tales From East End Boulevard"

Read the original post on the The Pulse

"Husky Burnette re-releases great 2013 collection—with some special extras

Sometime in late fall or early winter of 2013, Husky Burnette released the album Tales from East End Boulevard. It was a particularly powerful collection of tunes, prompting at least one eerily prescient reviewer to dub it, “The album that will be remembered for making Husky Burnette.” 

Now, a little over a year and a half later, the album is being re-released by the Rusty Knuckles record label with four new bonus tracks in preparation for the fall “Tales Revisited Tour.” The re-release and the tour are only the precursors to Burnette’s latest, greatest effort to date, Ain’t Nothin’ But A Revival, scheduled for release in mid-November.

Husky Burnette Talks On All That Is Hill Country Blues

Hill Country Blues is rock n' roll in its purest form

What is hill country blues? It’s a way of life for one. It’s a regional style of blues that comes from North Mississippi, particularly around the greater Holly Springs area. It gets down in your blood if you let it (and sometimes you don’t have a choice in the matter). It makes you wanna get up and get down. It’s a sound that moves you. Then, eventually, it forces you to physically move cause it gets you up out of your seat, throws you into a coma-like state and makes you MOVE. (Remember I said you have no choice in the matter?) This is a groove unlike any other. Not a groove like Funk, R&B, Jazz, Funk or any other kind of groove in music. This is trance music.

Hill country differs from all other styles of blues. It’s built from guitar-driven riffs, emphasizing the rhythm and percussion, very little use of the harmonica and the song structures themselves are more unconventional than any popularized blues songs on the radio, tv, etc. It’s different than Delta Blues for sure. Often, people mistake all styles of blues for being the same. For starters, this mistake happens simply because they all came out of Mississippi. Plus, Delta Blues took the limelight first. It’s far more popular than others, due to the old delta pickers taking their music to Chicago and becoming successful with worldwide recognition. Sometimes the styles even overlap. Take, for instance, T-Model Ford’s music. He hailed from the Delta but his sound and his playing was clearly Hill Country. From a musician’s point of view, the chords used, or lack thereof, are completely different from Delta and Chicago blues songs. It’s not your basic three chords (I-IV-V) you normally hear in popular blues progressions (Mustang Sally, Sweet Home Chicago, The Thrill Is Gone, etc). For the most part you’re just using that first chord (the I chord) of those three and, typically, never straying away from it. They hit that chord/key, lock into a groove, and ride it on out ‘til the wheels fall off. Obviously there are exceptions, as there are in any and every style of music. But, for the most part, it’s just trance music baby...all night long. And they didn’t wear no stinkin’ expensive suits either. They’re from the hill country. They wore wife-beaters, boots, trucker hats, overalls...they’re country-livin’ folks.

When you think hill country, two of the musicians that are mentioned the most, in modern times, are R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. In the 90’s their styles caught on with blues crowds and indie/alternative crowds alike. Especially when they appeared in the 1991 Deep Blues documentary and then signing with the Fat Possum record label out of Oxford, Mississippi. They actually began recording in the ‘60s, playing mostly at juke joints and house parties close to home. It wasn’t until the ‘70s that they actually started playing festivals and even Europe but, then in the ‘90s they gained much success, extensively touring in the states and overseas, inspiring many artists who would go on to emulate their hill country sound along the way. Burnside’s most popular trio consisted of himself, his grandson Cedric on drums and his buddy and “adopted son” the legendary Kenny Brown on slide/lead guitar. One of Kimbrough’s most notable lineups consisted of his son Kinney on drums and R.L.’s son Garry on bass guitar. Where Burnside’s music was more on the happy, dancing side of things (for a lack of better explanation), Kimbrough’s music portrayed a much darker side and approach to the style. Both Burnside and Kimbrough influenced tons of heavy-hitter artists who’ve recorded their tunes, such as The Black Keys, North Mississippi Allstars and more. They’ve had their songs in commercials, television shows, films, etc. But who influenced them? Burnside and Kimbrough both were heavily influenced by the music of John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters. However, Burnside learned directly from guitarists Mississippi Fred McDowell and Ranie Burnette. McDowell’s sound is said to have helped define the hill country sound early on. His performances had that “drone” style, that’s prominent in hill country, heavy on African rhythms and the percussive side of things.

RL Burnside will always be my personal favorite Hill Country Blues artist

Even though Burnside and Kimbrough have passed, their families still play on in this tradition that was passed down, keeping this style of blues alive: Duwayne Burnside, Duwayne Burnside & The Mississippi Mafia, The Burnside Exploration, Cedric Burnside, Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm, Kent Burnside & The New Generation and David Kimbrough. Kenny Brown and other North Mississippi artists, such as North Mississippi Allstars and Hill Country Revue, have taken the style or their newer version of the style to international fame as well. If you’re not hip to hill country blues, hopefully this will help get you on your journey and be the starter kit to learning about North Mississippi music. Do yourself a favor and seek out some of these artists mentioned, new and old. The same ol’ blues is gonna be just that without expanding to check out other voices and other ways of the land and music in Mississippi.

For a more in-depth look at the blues in all of it’s forms, check out the book Deep Blues by Robert Palmer. A great read for lovers of southern music!

Tales From East End Blvd: The Dive Bars We All Love

The new defunct Doozer's Pub in Jacksonville, FL

Most people who love a good dive bar have their own personal favorite, usually in their neighborhood or close-by. The stinky walls, the sticky floors, your kind of music on the jukebox and your kind of beer on tap. The live music - it’s so up-close and personal in these tiny places. Music is a huge factor here at these bars and sometimes it’s ALL about the music. Music is universal. Everyone likes some form of it. The ones that live for it, though, can usually be found in dive bars.

I’ve been playing music to pay the bills for quite a while now. I go in, I “work”, I get paid. It’s just like any other job (I refuse to call it a job though). Nonetheless, I don’t always get paid what I should if I’m playing a dive. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve played them and at the end of the night I got paid almost NOTHING after a 2-4 hour drive. Funny thing is, my band and I had the best time of our freaking lives on stage those nights and wouldn’t have had it any other way. Why is that? What is it that’s so appealing about a dive bar to patrons and musicians? Maybe it’s the fact that nobody is trying to impress anyone. Maybe it’s the companionship and the comfort. Maybe it’s the fact that, usually, everyone in a dive bar is a music lover so there’s always something to talk about (my personal favorite reason). Maybe it’s all of the above. All signs point back to music in one way or another but, whatever the reason, I love them and tons of people all over the world agree. 

JJ's Bohemia in Chattanooga, TN and its locals

Here in my hometown of Chattanooga, TN, thee rock and roll dive bar in town is JJ’s Bohemia. I can’t tell you how many shows I’ve seen in that narrow, shotgun-shaped, alcoholic-hallway of a bar. Beer only at the bar, “recreations” out back on the deck, a live band playing original tunes 7 nights a week and the stench of PBR on the stage, floor and everyone’s breath. I’ve been turned on to so many new bands/artists in that bar. I’ve seen bands there that I never thought I’d see up-close and personal. A few memorable ones being a BUZZOV*EN reunion / K-Lloyd show (both now Rusty Knuckles bands!), a crazy intense Valiant Thorr show, opening for Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers / Danny Barnes show and a ton of others. 

My favorite is the first time I saw the late, great T-Model Ford. When I won the Best Blues Band award for TN / GA in 2009, the JJ’s Bohemia owner, John Shoemaker, said he had something for me and asked me to open for the T-Model Ford / Black Diamond Heavies / Mark “Porkchop” Holder bill the following month. I replied with something similar to “You damn right I will!!”. I got to jam with T-Model in the middle of the bar before they opened the doors. T was playing my guitar, I was playing his, and my drummer at the time, Burma Shave, was behind the kit. I also got to sit in on lead guitar during T’s song “Chickenhead Man” with him later that night and every other night he played JJ’s before he passed! 

Husky and T-Model Ford hanging out pre-show at JJ's Bohemia

Needless to say, it’s something that changed my life a bit and that I’ll never forget. There’s been many a night that I couldn’t help but go crazy with energy while playing on their stage cause the patrons were literally making the floor in front of the stage shake and rumble. You feel it in your bones and can’t help but turn it up and go nuts even though the stage and floor feel like they could collapse at any minute!
Another great dive that comes to mind is Doozers in Jacksonville, FL. Don’t go looking for it, it’s gone. Doozers was simply amazing. A tiny little building on the edge of town. It was a punk rock dive, nothing more. Inside it’s walls were people that loved music...period. I made good friends and no money there. Did I care about the paycheck part? Hell no!! It was the best damn show of the FL run every year! Sweaty, shirtless kids jumping around like wild, banshee monkeys. Who would’ve thought that my music would even remotely entertain them? Boy, did it ever! They were flinging themselves in circles of rage, kicking mic stands over and going crazy for 3 - 4 minutes at a time. I really miss that place. The owner, TJ Doozer, had something special there but, eventually, she had to let it go like many other dive owners have to.

It’s memories and first-times like these that you just won’t get anywhere else. Even though some of the dives that I really loved to play are gone, there are new ones that come along that somewhat replace the emptiness and bring on a new life of it’s own. One of them is Shore Road Tavern in northeast Philadelphia, PA. Wow, what a bunch of awesome, friendly folks. Mike Fiedler and his wife Kathy have really got a good thing going. Why? It’s because of those same ol’ reasons I mentioned at the beginning: everyone is a music lover, your kind of music on the jukebox, your kind of beer on tap, your kind of folks. 

Pennsylvania State Rep Michael Tomlinson hanging out at Shore Road post-show

There are no show-offs here, no uppity attitudes, just good folks who are looking to wind down and have a damn good time. One night I was playing an official state representative was even in there hanging out. Real people, real things (I may sound like Russell Hammond, guitarist for Stillwater in the film Almost Famous but, it’s the truth. It’s all about the real). Mike has become a brother of mine these days. Him and his crew of misfits are some of the most real people I’ve ever hung out with and because of that, I call Philly and Shore Road my second home now. I try to pass through every chance I get, whether I’m on tour or not. Mike and Kathy are truly down for the cause and Shore Road is making history, like every other good dive bar that does it for the right reasons. They are a rare breed for sure and we love them for it.

Husky, Loki, Bill Dorsey and Mike Fiedler outside the Shore Road Tavern

These dive owners and employees will never be forgotten. They mean so much to us traveling musicians. I can’t find the words to express how I feel about them. It’s not just us musicians that appreciate them this much. The patrons love them just as much for bringing in the music they love. A true dive bar can make you feel warm and fuzzy like that, without the beer / liquor buzz. Inside those beaten-up walls people find themselves, they get educated, they learn about music, they make friends, they get hammered in good fun and they gain a second home. Do yourself a favor and support your locals: go spend your money at your local dive instead of some franchise bar or restaurant. It’ll do your soul some good and you just might learn a thing or two.

- Husky Burnette 

Husky Burnette Strikes A Chord With Dirty Riff Raff

Husky Burnette featured for 8 straight weeks on the Itunes New & Noteworthy charts

There is a new sheriff in town that is running the show. He strikes a chord with dirty riff raff and is known to frequent East End Blvd. Folks, Husky Burnette is kicking ass and taking names with week no. 8 on the Itunes Blues Charts.


Get your copy on CD

Download the album from Itunes

Portrait of Husky Burnette for his new album, Tales From East End Blvd.

Husky Burnette Is Now A Featured Itunes Blues Artist

Husky Burnette featured as main artist on Itunes Blues page

To say that we are stoked to be seeing Husky Burnette front and center on Itunes Blues page is an absolute understatement. This is a hard fought battle for recognition and exposure for a guy that makes his living as a musician.

I knew the album was great once I heard some rough tracks back in February, but now others are starting to hear just how solid this album is. Huge thanks to Buck Thrailkill and J.B. Beverley at Rebel Roots Studio for capturing the sounds. Cannot thank Itunes folks enough for choosing to feature this album and for all the hard work and dedication that Husky Burnette puts into his live shows, crafting his tunes and most of all for being a humble individual. 

Crank it up folks and get your day started right! 

Order your copy of the album

Download the album from Itunes



Now that we have your attention to Husky's new track, Beat & Lowdown, do yourself a favor and dive into another song below called "That Liquor". 

The Blues are a religion and Brian "Husky" Burnette sho' 'nuff preaches it. You can feel the testimony as he blends Delta Blues, Rock n Roll and Electric Blues. His music is gritty, soulful, southern, low-down and dirty. Husky, who hails from Chattanooga, TN, followed in the family footsteps of rockabilly kings Johnny Burnette and Dorsey Burnette, writing, recording and touring with several national artists over the years. Two of which that stand out are lead guitar position for legendary singer/songwriter Roger Alan Wade and the supporting act on tour for Hank Williams III. He has shared the stage with many others such as Leon Russell, T-Model Ford, Kenny Brown, Guy Clark, Emmylou Harris, Shooter Jennings, Scott H. Biram, Col J.D. Wilkes (The Legendary Shack Shakers/The Dirt Daubers) and J.J. Grey and Mofro. 

Husky recently signed with Rusty Knuckles Music to release his next LP, “Tales From East End Blvd.” in August 2013. The new album was recorded and produced by J.B. Beverley and Buck Thrailkill at Rebel Roots Studio and features Shooter Jennings, Billy Don Burns and J.B. Beverley, among others.

Order your copy now on cd and digital

Have a sample of That Liquor

Husky Burnette - Tales From East End Blvd. - Album Cover

Husky Burnette for Mayor of Chattanooga, TN

Scene 2 at Aardvark Screenprint, which prints, all the Rusty Knuckles merch. Huge thanks to Greg Clayton!

Scene 4 at one of downtown Raleigh's great parks.

Scene 3 on top of a parking deck in downtown Raleigh. Kitty Barks working for a unique shot

Scene 7 - Raleigh Beach damn

Scene 7 - Raleigh Beach Dam

The Blues According To Lightnin' Hopkins

Texas Blues legend, Lightnin' Hopkins

"The great Texas bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins is captured brilliantly in this deeply moving film. Blank reveals Lightnin’s inspiration, and features a generous helping of classic blues. Includes performances at an outdoor barbeque and a black rodeo; and a visit to his boyhood town of Centerville, Texas. This powerful portrait is among Blank’s special masterworks. 31 minutes.Video also contains: The Sun’s Gonna Shine (1969)"

Husky Burnette - Beat & Lowdown - Video Premiere

When we set out to shoot the new video for Husky Burnette, there were quite a few ideas to ponder for on screen action and one element that I kept going back to, was the slide guitar. After seeing Husky live numerous times, I noticed his distinct style of playing and how animated he can be with his licks. Focusing in on the guitar and the solid groove of his material made me want to keep the film style simple and gritty. 

I scouted around Raleigh for a few weeks to get good locations for each shot and planned them according to a route and by the time of day in which to shoot them. Hustling from shot to shot for 2 to 4 takes at eight different locations, was our plan of attack and I cannot thank J.B. Beverley, Kitty Barks, David Burnette and ol' Husky himself for all their help in making the video come to fruition.

This was my first feature length band video shot and edited fully in house. As a label we are damn stoked as the door has been fully kicked open and are planning videos for every band on the label. Our priorities are always focused on the label as a whole and with a steady production crew at the ready, we can accomplish a lot more on the cinematic end and turn it around easily, while also enjoying the process.  

Peep the video on your Vimeo channel as well


Now that we have your attention to Husky's new track, Beat & Lowdown, do yourself a favor and dive into another song below called "That Liquor". 

The Blues are a religion and Brian "Husky" Burnette sho' 'nuff preaches it. You can feel the testimony as he blends Delta Blues, Rock n Roll and Electric Blues. His music is gritty, soulful, southern, low-down and dirty. Husky, who hails from Chattanooga, TN, followed in the family footsteps of rockabilly kings Johnny Burnette and Dorsey Burnette, writing, recording and touring with several national artists over the years. Two of which that stand out are lead guitar position for legendary singer/songwriter Roger Alan Wade and the supporting act on tour for Hank Williams III. He has shared the stage with many others such as Leon Russell, T-Model Ford, Kenny Brown, Guy Clark, Emmylou Harris, Shooter Jennings, Scott H. Biram, Col J.D. Wilkes (The Legendary Shack Shakers/The Dirt Daubers) and J.J. Grey and Mofro. 

Husky recently signed with Rusty Knuckles Music to release his next LP, “Tales From East End Blvd.” in August 2013. The new album was recorded and produced by J.B. Beverley and Buck Thrailkill at Rebel Roots Studio and features Shooter Jennings, Billy Don Burns and J.B. Beverley, among others.

Pre-order your copy now on cd - ships August 24th

Have a sample of That Liquor

Husky Burnette - Tales From East End Blvd. - Album Cover

Husky Burnette for Mayor of Chattanooga, TN

Scene 2 at Aardvark Screenprint, which prints, all the Rusty Knuckles merch. Huge thanks to Greg Clayton!

Scene 4 at one of downtown Raleigh's great parks.

Scene 3 on top of a parking deck in downtown Raleigh. Kitty Barks working for a unique shot

Scene 7 - Raleigh Beach damn

Scene 7 - Raleigh Beach Dam

Life Advice from One of the World's Most Eloquent Pimps, From Vice

True characters can be found in all facets of life. I remember specifically one night when we went to see the premiere opening of the film, American Pimp and some of the actual pimps showed up. They were yelling at the screen and talking trash. Cinema could not have gotten any better especially with Fillmore Slim sitting in the audience with us. Below is quite the interesting article from Vice Magazine about Mickey Royal.

Read the article on Vice Magazine

"When I was 18, I liked to trawl through Facebook to try and find the strangest people I could. I guess it was my slightly creepy way of trying to understand people I'd never have the chance to meet in real life—Tanzanian lawyers, Portuguese surfers, British crack addicts, and Cambridge boxers have all been on my Friends list. Most of them still are.

At some point, I ended up becoming Facebook friends with a pimp called Mickey Royal. He's incredibly eloquent, speaks like a Baptist preacher, lived through the LA crack wars of the late 80s, is a published author, and has a pretty compelling collection of Facebook profile pictures. Of all the people I virtually befriended, Mickey was one of the few I really learned anything from. Looking at his life (and the pimping it seemed to mainly consist of), I realized that the idea that you can apply a rigid moral code to every situation in life is a limiting one, and that morality depends as much on circumstance as what your parents tell you is right and wrong. Even if the basic idea of making money by farming out women for sex is fundamentally abhorrent.

Considering Mickey had already taught me something without us ever actually communicating, I figured I should get in touch and have him teach me about something else: the nuances of pimping.

Mickey Royal. All photos courtesy of Mickey Royal

VICE: Hey, Mickey. So what are the different types of pimp?
 
Mickey Royal:  Gorilla pimp is the universally accepted term for a pimp who is constantly heavy-handed. Chill pimp or boyfriend pimp is a universally accepted term for a pimp with one ho, who he’s romantically involved with. Most of the terms depend on the region that particular pimp is from. The confusion comes when the word pimp goes from noun to verb. You have pimps, macks, and hustlers (nouns), and all three can pimp (verb) or be pimps (noun again).

What type of pimp were you?


As a martial artist in my youth, I learned positioning from a mathematical standpoint.

OK. What does that mean?


When I was just a white belt in Kenpo, I would have to attack from a certain stance. Once I reached a certain level, I could fight from any position using proper weight distribution. When you reach a certain level as a pimp, you can morph into any particular style in order to achieve your intended goal.

What does this morphing entail?


Almost changing physically in appearance, comparable to a vampire. Once a vampire becomes a vampire master, then he or she can morph temporarily into a wolf or bat. In the same way, a master pimp—a true, experienced, skilled pimp—can morph into mack or hustler to achieve the desired objective.

I see. So what type of pimp were you? A gorilla?

I wasn't a gorilla pimp, no. I had very little respect for them because of the absence of psychology involved in their methods. I’m a psychological scientist who was known for using the mind to control individuals.

Mickey (on the right) in his youth.

So you were a kind of hypno-pimp, then?

My violence wasn’t ever unleashed on the women I regarded as my family, sisters, co-workers, etc. I exercised extreme violence against those who threatened them. Sadistic tricks [customers], rapists, gang-bangers, and drug dealers were my main enemies. These were the abusive ones in the game, so we were often at odds. I was fair, honest, and no-nonsense.

What was your inspiration for becoming this benevolent master pimp?


An egg is delicate. Hold it too loosely and it falls and breaks. Hold it too tight and it cracks and breaks. It’s a delicate balance when dealing with the fragile human psyche.



I see.


I noticed that the majority of pimps were gorilla pimps. The rest were just macks who were pimping, or trying to. Coming off of the streets of Los Angeles, you won't find too many pimps in pink or yellow flamboyant suits. I grew up in LA during the crack wars of the 1980s. Those [flamboyant] pimps would have been robbed and raped in my neighborhood. Coming out of the gang/OC [organized crime] world, when making the transition to pimp, I took my reputation with me.

What was your business like?


I chose to run my "royal family" the same way I lived in the family I was raised in. Just because I was a pimp, didn't mean I was going to sacrifice my principles or lower my standards and methods because of the occupation I was in. Me and the girls are human beings first. I treated my ladies with the utmost respect. We ate, operated, and lived as a family—like firemen at a firehouse who are always on call.



If you're so concerned with people's wellbeing, why get into pimping in the first place?
 
Why did I choose to be a pimp? It wasn't like Monday I was in a choir and Tuesday I was on the block. It's a gradual descent—or ascent, depending on your particular perspective—into the game. By the time I was 14, I had been shot and stabbed. It's the same as working in a grocery store in the stockroom. One day you decide to work at the checkout counter—it’s not much of a switch. I was 19 or 20 when I became a fully-fledged pimp and stopped being a gangster, but I'd had one foot in the game since 16.

Was the money good?


Drug dealers I knew and worked for since I was 13 lived with more money than any pimp could ever dream of, so it wasn’t the money at all.

So what was it that you liked about pimping?


I was attracted to the fact that, on Sunday night on Crenshaw Boulevard, the pimps always seemed happy. They had no bullet holes, no police brutality. No one was trying to kill them. Everyone loved them and they were classy gentlemen. Their mannerisms and overall presence made the drug dealers seem like rich savages. Pimps seemed like well-read aristocrats compared to the knuckle dragging loan sharks, bookies, and drug dealers I knew. I was taken under a master pimp’s wing because he saw qualities in me being wasted on the streets. I knew the biggest muscle in my body was between my ears and I wanted to develop it.

Can you share some of that wisdom with me?


I was once asked, "Which one is more powerful, love or hate?" I answered the question this way: I would run into a burning building, risking my life to save someone I loved. But I would not run into a burning building and risk my life to kill someone I hated. My leadership abilities, style, and technique stem from a point of love. I referred to my ladies in private, as well as in public, as my “wives.” A man or woman will do ten times to please and protect someone they love as opposed to someone they feared. So fear was a weapon used only against outside agitators. My homes ran as finely tuned sorority houses.

Cool. And do you have any advice for future pimps?


Some get caught up in the intoxicating allure and essence of the pimp game. It’s the indescribable feeling of fantasy and reality having a baby—a love child named "ecstasy." In that moment you become stuck—trapped, willingly. I live my entire life in that moment, but without losing sight of the destination. Most pimps upon reaching this level abandon the destination and the journey becomes an endless one. They begin to get cycled into and get stuck in a downward, upward spiral. I kept my eyes on the destination at all times, not the journey. That way my navigational decision making won't be affected.

Thanks, Mickey.

Read more from Mickey Royal on his website.
Follow Olly on Twitter: @olongworth1
More pimping:

Original Rare Photograph Of Robert Johnson And Johnny Shines

Life has an amazing way of working itself around into an infinite loop. The other day, I saw a post on Facebook from David Patillo of the Dead Exs, on a link to the article below about an original photo of Robert Johnson. Well, in that photo it just so happens that Robert Johnson is accompanied by none other than Johnny Shines. Ol' Johnny Shines ending up playing with Stevie Tombstone quite a few years back and offered up quite a few life lessons. This also set the ball rolling for Robet Johnson to have a proper headstone in Greenwood, Mississippi.

We think you should follow up on this tale and learn more on Robert Johnson and Johnny Shine. Check out the video below we did on Stevie Tombstone's new album, aptly entitled "Greenwood" and him talking about their headstone created for one of America's most treasured musicians.


Check out original post on the Guardian UK

Robert Johnson poses with fellow blues musician Johnny Shines in the newly released photograph. Photograph: Robert Johnson Estate/Getty Images

"Perhaps the most infamous music deal ever struck involved no contracts and no lawyers. The blues singer Robert Johnson, so the legend goes, acquired his unearthly musical talent after meeting the devil at a crossroads.

Until now, there were only two verified photographs of Johnson (1911-1938), who remains the most inspirational musician produced by the Mississippi Delta and the man Eric Clapton once anointed as "the most important blues musician who ever lived". This weekend a third, newly cleaned-up and authenticated image has been released by the Johnson estate showing him standing next to musician Johnny Shines.

Forensic work on the photograph began in 2007, when Lois Gibson, who works with the Houston police department, analysed the features of the long-fingered figure holding the guitar. Gibson, who found the identity of the sailor kissing the nurse in the Life magazine photo of Times Square on VJ day the second world war ended, has ruled that "it appears the individual is Robert Johnson. All the features are consistent, if not identical." The only differences, she added, were due to the angle of the camera or the lighting.

The new photograph came to light eight years ago, when a classical guitarist called Steven "Zeke" Schein was searching eBay for an old guitar. He spotted a thumbnail picture with a caption that read "Old Snapshot Blues Guitar BB King???" and bought it. On inspection neither man in the photograph looked like BB King, but Schein noticed the length of the man's fingers on the guitar and the way his left eye was narrower than his right.

One of the other two known photographs of Johnson is postage stamp size and is thought to have been taken in a booth in the 1930s. It was first published in Rolling Stone in 1986, the year that Johnson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and shows him in a button-down shirt, staring directly at the lens. A cigarette hangs from his lips and his long fingers rest on a guitar neck.

The second image was taken at the Hooks Bros photographic studio in Memphis. In it, Johnson sits cross-legged on a stool with his guitar, wearing a pin-striped suit and a tie. This portrait was used on the cover of Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings, the two-CD boxed set issued by Columbia Records in 1990."

Did Robert Johnson Really Sell His Soul To The Devil At The Crossroad?

Legend has it that Robert Johnson sold his soul at the crossroads. Is this fact, could it be fiction or maybe its something entirely different altogether, could it be mistaken identity? What, we the public actually diggin' for the truth and not believing everything we are told? 

Radiolab has come up with quite the interesting podcast about ol' Robert Johnson and anyone that listens to the blues and the origins of rock n' roll will find this quite compelling.

Link to original podcast over at Radiolab

Did Robert Johnson really sell his soul to the devil at the cross roads?

"For years and years, Jad's been fascinated by the myth of what happened to Robert Johnson at the crossroads in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The story goes like this: back in the 1920s, Robert Johnson wanted to play the blues. But he really sucked. He sucked so much, that everyone who heard him told him to get lost. So he did. He disappeared for a little while, and when he came back, he was different. His music was startling--and musicians who'd laughed at him before now wanted to know how he did it. And according to the now-famous legend, Johnson had a simple answer: he went out to the crossroads just before midnight, and when the devil offered to tune his guitar in exchange for his soul, he took the deal.


Producer Pat Walters bravely escorts Jad to the scene of the supposed crime, in the middle of the night in the Mississippi Delta, to try to track down some shred of truth to all this. Not because they really thought something spooky would actually happen, but because deep down, there's a part of this story that--as much as the facts fall apart--still feels kind of true.


To help us get close to the real human behind the tall tales, we talk to Robert Johnson experts Tom Graves, Elijah Wald, David Evans, and Robert “Mack” McCormick. And we hear, posthumously, from Ledell Johnson...a man of no relation to Robert, who unintentionally helped the world fall for a blues-imbued ghost story."

Robert Johnson illustration by ComicNerd635 from Deviant Art

Rory Kelly Interview - The Making of (Don't Shake My) Family Tree

The month of May is going to be a busy month for us over here at Rusty Knuckles, with the amazing release of the debut album from Rory Kelly. The album will officially be available on May 22nd worldwide and tomorrow we will post the pre-sales through our webstore. All orders will ship on May 22nd and damn if this is not one amazing album of dirty southern rock n' roll.

Link up with Rory Kelly on Facebook

"Blame it on the heady highs in the air that permeate the Black Mountains of North Carolina, but the state has produced an artist in Rory Kelly that will surely bring new dimension to the tour de force that is America’s beloved Southern Rock. Possessing a playing ability in league with prodigies, Kelly is a self-taught musician that picked up the guitar as a boy and cut his chops in the rural town of Marion. While his mother slung drinks behind the bar, Rory strummed alongside his father, drummer Mike Kelly, in a family dominated house band in a local music dive. Mike Kelly has quite the backstory in thrash metal as well, being part of the infamous Old Bridge Militia of thrash metal fame.


Tapped a few years later, first by heavy metal outfit Intethod and later by Asheville based sleaze masters, the Crank County Daredevils, who found success both in the US and abroad; Kelly developed a keen ear, and playing ability to match, for what would develop into an ever widening spectrum of rock n roll sensibilities. After the unforeseen dissolution of Crank County, in 2010 Rory Kelly began to hone his own dirty rock n' roll based signature sound and recruited his former musical partner and father Mike to form two-thirds of what would ultimately become their current band. Together they recorded, and Rory Kelly produced, what critics deemed a “swamp rock” sound in their first release, Better Than The Blues.


When demand for that record began to outweigh supply, Rory Kelly began to branch out regionally, playing live with a hired gun on bass and gaining footholds with venues and audiences throughout both the Carolinas. In March of 2011 they scored a coveted series of showcases with Texas Rockfest, which takes place in the heart of downtown Austin, Texas each year during the world famous South By Southwest music conference. Those showcases brought Kelly interest from endorsement companies and rekindled a connection between him and Rusty Knuckles, his former label from the Crank County days, that was in the midst of successfully developing its’ own niche signing renegade artists from within the ranks of southern sleaze. Summer ’11 brought more recognition to Rory Kelly as they were thrust into and embraced by the Southern biker circuit and a permanent bass player joined their ranks. Billy Miller, also a seasoned musician from touring gigs with Voodou and Super Sport, brought the final element needed to round out this dirty rock n' roll trio, forming a mercurial rhythm section with the elder Kelly to compliment the smoldering swagger of Kelly’s rock riffs.


The addition of Miller has brought a new dynamic into the band and, with that, an ever evolving definition of what Southern Rock means to Rory Kelly and how they intend to translate that to their followers. The new album is done and scheduled for release in late Spring of 2012, and has captured the interest of well-known NC radio personality Steve Blanton who will assist Kelly in the production of their second effort. Revealing a band edging toward a harder sound, (Don't Shake My) Family Tree, will be released to world-wide distribution through Rusty Knuckles with both US and European tours planned for early 2012 in support of the record." 

- Tammy Moore

Rory Kelly © 2012, photo by Rusty Knuckles Music

Rory Kelly © 2012, photo by Rusty Knuckles Music

Rory Kelly's new album (Don't Shake My) Family Tree