J. Brown Thinks Out Loud

It’s Friday and we thought that you guys might enjoy another track from our recent live recording. This song, titled City Lights, is a Brown Soul Shoes original. It seems to be a fan favorite, but let us know what you think about it.

Good Monday morning to everyone and happy October to you all. I wanted to share another track from my band’s recent live recording. This one is a cover of The Thrill is Gone, an old B.B. King favorite. Enjoy!

My band, Brown Soul Shoes, recently recorded a show on the rooftop of Michaelangelo’s in Conway, Arkansas. Take a listen to the opening track and let me know what you think. It’s a cover of a Herbie Hancock song called Chameleon.

I came across a map on Twitter this morning that was posted by Scott Enyeart. The map comes from PopVsSoda and it gives a great visual of how we, in America, refer to that fizzy, calorie filled treat I call soda. I’m obviously in the minority.

Looking at the stats for Arkansas, we clearly fall in the “Coke” category. If you click on our state, you can check out statistics county by county. Take a look at the map and see if you’re an outcast in this ageless debate.

As most of you know, I try my hardest to pretend to be a musician here in Little Rock. With that being said, I keep my eye on all of the shows coming to town and try to catch as many as my schedule will allow.

I’ve recently noticed that we have a GREAT run of shows coming to town before the year’s end. This is my attempt to share those shows with you. Please feel free to add to the list as you see fit. As always, thanks for reading! 

• Twista - July 13; Rev Room
• Tedeschi Trucks Band - July 15; Robinson Auditorium
• David Allen Coe - August 4; Rev Room
• Chris Robinson Brotherhood - August 14; Rev Room
• Yellow Dubmarine - August 21; Stickyz
• Little Feat - September 10; Rev Room
• Pretty Lights - September 26; Riverfest Ampitheatre
• Henry Rollins: Capitalism - October 3; Juanita’s
• Needtobreath - October 9; Robinson Auditorium
• Galactic featuring Corey Glover - October 28; Juanita’s

Now that you know what’s going on, I hope you’ll get out and enjoy some live entertainment. Cheers!

As most of you probably know, I play music with a group of guys here in Little Rock. We call ourselves Brown Soul Shoes and we mostly like to play blues and soul. We’ll be taking on a new venue this Friday night in Conway, Arkansas and we’re looking forward to it. The Ford Theater is Conway’s newest venue and we’ve heard nothing but great things. Here’s a preview of what you’ll see at the show. Come out and see us if you’re local!

As most of you know, I started playing music with a group of friends a couple of years ago. We call ourselves Brown Soul Shoes and you’ll hear lots of blues and soul when you come out to one of our shows. I love playing music with these guys. It never gets old and it’s the best hobby in the world. 

We’ve always played Little Rock for the most part with the occasional trip to Conway. Here lately, we’re getting calls from all over the state. We’ve got a couple of dates booked in Jonesboro for March and we’ve been receiving calls from Texarkana and Fayetteville. We’ve been to northwest Arkansas once before, but never south of Pulaski County so we’re pretty excited about getting down south. We’ve booked a couple of weddings this spring, one in Dumas and one in Star City. We like to play at weddings, so that should be a lot of fun.

The next pin on our “Atlas of Soul” is jabbed in Memphis where it all started. We’ve had missed opportunities in Memphis in the past and we would love to get over there this year. Our favorite compliment to hear is “You guys sound like Beale Street.” We love to play anywhere, but Memphis would be our dream spot.

If you see us out and about, please stop in and have a listen. Let us know what you think and tell someone about us. We’ve got a website and we’re on Facebook and Twitter too. If you follow along, you’ll always know where to find us.

While scanning my Twitter feed today, I noticed that one of the guys that I follow mentioned his rediscovered love of mix tapes. He posted that he had created a brand new mix titled Southbound. For those of you that know me, I was immediately intrigued.

I asked @jacobslaton to post the song list when he had a chance because the title grabbed my attention. Having never met Jacob in person, I wasn’t sure what to expect. This song list could be full of country classics or southern anthems, perhaps Molly Hatchet and Lynyrd Skynyrd. I would have been ok with those selections, but that’s not what I found.

My first thoughts were WOW! We’ve never met, right? Could this be love at first listen? I think so. Dude, you know your music. I started a blog post that included my thoughts on each song. I realized that it wasn’t a blog post, it was a book. It’s tucked away and may see light down the road.

Here’s the thing. These are all bands that I would associate with the South. All bands that I have used on my own mix tapes in the past. However, I am not sure I’ve ever used any of these songs. Sure, every southerner has jammed a Grateful Tune here and there, but Big River? Come on! What a great choice!

Alright, I’ll give it to you on the Joe Cocker tune. You Can Leave Your Hat On is in my top three Cocker tunes of all time. Seriously overlooked, like lots of his work in the 80s. Great tune, dude!

Let’s talk about The Meters. I’m in my third week of EVER listening to this band and I’m so mad at myself for ignoring them in the past. I honestly believe that it was impossible for those guys to make a bad song. I’m hooked! 

Let me offer one suggestion, if I may. I can hardly listen to any North Mississippi All Stars’ studio recordings. I love everything about them, their dad and their love for R.L. Burnside, but dammit, they are much better live. I would’ve gone with the version found on the Hill Country Revue album recorded at Bonnaroo in 2004. If you’ve never watched Cedric Burnside at White Water, I’m taking you next time he’s in town.

Moving down the playlist, the jams keep coming. I love the Proclaimers pick. I probably would’ve never put them on a southern mix, but I love it. The Queen tune is a great touch to this superb mix. Wait, I almost forgot. THANK YOU for choosing something other than Wagon Wheel for Old Crow Medicine Show. They deserve it.

You’ve got some great tracks to round out the end of this mix. I will have to say, Jeff Tweedy has a voice that will always make me think of the south. Wilco’s Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot are two of my favorite albums of all time. Great choice!

Lastly, I’ll comment on Willie Nelson’s Whiskey River. I don’t think I’ve made a mix tape between May and September that excluded this tune. I think I’ll be digging out my Milk Cow Blues album after listening to this one.

Mr. Slaton, you have created an incredible music collection in this playlist. My favorite thing about the mix is that it takes a different approach to most of the artists found on my “southern” mixes. You’ve opened my eyes and my music library. I truly appreciate it. After hearing your mix, I can’t imagine that we’ve never crossed paths at a show. Let’s do that soon, what do you say?