country bob still going strong

So these guys are still together...

I first heard of Country Bob and the Blood Farmers in the 1980's when I was writing record reviews for a few small music magazines. I reviewed what I assumed to be their first record, Goin' to Hell in a Hatbasket. I think the magazine was called Alternative Rhythms, but after all these years I'm not sure. The band kind of straddles the line between cowpunk and psychobilly. On Hatbasket, the did a great cover of "Dang Me," as well some great originals. "God Fearin' Man," "Black Cowboy" and (my favorite) "Bowl Full of Noses."

There are so many bands I liked whose small-label releases never went anywhere. Most of them never had major mainstream success, Most of them broke up, with the members pursuing other endeavors or regrouping with members of other bands in new permutations. I don't know if these guys have been together for this whole time, or if they broke up and reunited. I don't know if there's been a stable lineup or what.

I do know they have another album out, I Cut Out Her Heart (and Stomped on It). I'll have to look into this...

hello, and pleased to meet you

Hello, and welcome to my music blog. I am Moish.

My intention, right now, is to blog about music -- that means any aspect of music and my relationship to it. That's kind of vague, I admit. But the simple rule is that I decide what's acceptable. I'll probably touch on other topics -- politics and religion for example -- but for the purpose of getting at whatever music or music-related point I am trying to make. I have no intention of writing about politics for the purpose of debating politics.

So, I may as well describe the role music plays and has played in my life.

To star with, I enjoy music (duh). Generally speaking, I like most forms of rock (and rock-related) music, with special attention to British pub rock of the 1970s (and related acts), early new wave, C&W, and cowpunk. Oh, I also love the Monkees, even though they don't fit into any of those categories.

In college, I wrote for the music sections of a few campus newspapers -- mostly record reviews, but there were a couple of essays, interviews and concert reviews. At one point I was Music Editor for one of those papers. In grad school (at a different college), I wrote a couple of record reviews for the campus paper. I have also done some freelance music journalism (most notably for the now-defunct Tower Records' Pulse!). I toyed with the idea of pursuing a career in music journalism, but realized that, for a variety of reasons, that's not for me.

I also do a little songwriting on the side, At this point I have exactly three songs that I think are worthy of trying to sell. By contrast, I have written many, many songs that (how shall I put this delicately?) aren't worthy of trying to sell. As a songwriter, I have made about $20 in royalties (which isn't enough for me to quit my day job) and gotten into ASCAP.

I also collect CDs. I haven't really embraced the new digital reality of buying music as downloads. For me, it's got to be on a physical CD or it doesn't feel right.

I can play a little bit of guitar, enough to support my songwriting. But I'm not particularly good at it. As a singer, I'm an excellent guitarist.

UPDATE: I should have mentioned that in college I was also a DJ for the campus radio station. I did a show called The Alternate Version Show, in which I played, back to back, two versions of one song by two different performers.