Palo Duro Records

Although Live From the River Road Icehouse, Darryl Lee Rush’s sophomore effort, has been out for almost a year, a new video for the song “Lot” premiered last week at Trinity Hall in Mockingbird Station.

“Lot” is one of two studio recordings that appeared on the live album, and it may be the best song Rush has written. An ode to a woman accepting her lot in life while barely making ends meet, the song is just another example of Rush’s lyrical skill.

Rush’s debut, Llano Avenue, came out in 2006 and it is still one of the best collections of traditional country music to come out of Dallas in a decade. The live album seemed to be a holding pattern while Rush worked things out with his label, so let’s hope the video release will get things jump started and we can expect a lot more like “Lot” in the near future.

Review by Darryl Smyers

To view the “Lot” video, go to www.darrylleerush.com.

Popularity: 4% [?]

We are excited to announce the musical lineup for the debut Chattahippie Music Festival, featuring the best talent in Americana, Rock, Blues, Jam, Country, Folk and Bluegrass from around the nation! With over thirty artists from ten states, this promises to be a great celebration of peace, love and music!

Northwest Georgia Bank presents the 2008 Chattahippie Music Festival featuring: Pure Prairie League, Chris Knight, The Derailers, Charlie Louvin, Walt Wilkins & The Mystiqueros, Two Tons of Steel, Elizabeth Cook, Dallas Wayne, The Gougers, Gary Nicholson, Jason Eady & The Wayward Apostles, Laura Cantrell, Buzz Cason & The Love Notes, Beggars’ Caravan, Lou Wamp, Roger Alan Wade, Dane Varese, Joe Moss, Trent Summar & The New Row Mob, Jimmy Davis, Michael Johnathon, Band of Heathens, Doug & Telisha Williams, Miles from Nowhere, Michael Hearne & South by Southwest, Tommy Alverson, Billy Block, Whitey Johnson, Penguin, Tressie Seegers, Darryl Lee Rush, and The New Binkley Brothers.

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Popularity: 30% [?]

Review by Mary Jane Farmer

I’ll admit I fell down on the job in getting notes about this CD out to you sooner. The reason, I’ll also admit, is that MFN had grown so between the first time I heard them live and this production, I didn’t think it showed them off. I told producer Joshua Jones it was good, even great, but not MFN. I was wrong, I learned, after putting miles on my little car to hear Miles From Nowhere live again and again. They have grown professionally, and this CD authenticates that growth and the chemistry of the band, stemmng from their own mix of musical influences.

Produced by Jones on Shiner Records after Miles From Nowhere became their 2006 competition winner, “Bloodline” came out at least six months ago. MFN fans already have their copies. For others, go get it.

Miles From Nowhere is unique in that they combine country with a fine sense of easy listening, rock, and danceable ballads. Someone said the band is as like a huge scrambled egg, only its scrambled music. You have to listen close to determine if Merrol Ray or Adam Walker is singing lead or playing lead guitar, or if they are switching leads back and forth. Ray, Walker, and another band member, drummer Wesley Joe Malone,  penned most of the songs, with Jones providing “Queen of California” to them, never expecting to get the quality cover they gave. The fourth band member is bass guitarist Joe Allen Jordan, a steady-as-she-goes sort of musician.

“When I Get Mean” moved along the Texas Music Chart for a while, as did the title cut before it.

This, too, is distributed by Palo Duro Records, and those who don’t want to wait until the next time Miles From Nowhere plays in their area can order the CD online, www.palodurorecords.com.

Popularity: 14% [?]

There are times and moods that call for country music to be a bit rough around the edges and ornery. On Bloodline, Miles From Nowhere deliver on this belief. Echoes of country, rock, the blues and the Outlaw movement mingle together to make this album a contemporary southern rock success. Produced by Dan Baird of Georgia Satellites fame, Bloodline, is full of crunchy guitars that bounce and good ol’ boy lyrics that bite.The title track kicks off the album and the rolling guitar intro and vocal delivery demonstrate a strong Neil Young influence. “Give Me the Road” is exactly what one would expect it to be based on the title. Continuing in that vein, like every good southern rock band dating back to the days of Skynyrd, Miles From Nowhere know how to deliver a good power ballad, between boastful batches of bravado. “Faces” fills that role here and does so very well, with perhaps the best lyrics on the album and the hook of: this face in the mirror is getting harder and harder to see. It’s a classic tale of being unsure of your past, confused about your future and the difficult task of trying to reconcile the two. “Hard Livin’ Man” and “I Can’t Win” are honky tonk barn barn burners of songs that harken back to the golden age of 70’s Outlaw movement. “Mona Sue” has a plucky bass line and a rocketing chorus featuring Doobie Brother-esue harmonies. While not reinventing the wheel by any stretch of the imagination, Bloodline, illustrates a band delivering an outstanding dose of blues filled southern rock. Miles From Nowhere seem to realize, rightfully so, that sometimes music is just mean’t to be fun. When the mood calls for something just a tad bit rowdy and rocking, this might be the record you should reach for… Story by Brad Beheler, Lone Star Music Magazine

Popularity: 14% [?]

If you’ve read any of my previous reviews, you know that I am just a bit
partial to live albums. My belief is that you get more of who an artist
really is when you hear them live and a live album is the closest thing to a
live music experience that you can get without being there. “Darryl Lee Rush
Live from the River Road Icehouse” from Darryl Lee Rush is the perfect
example of this. Darryl Lee Rush is not only a great songwriter but is one
hell of a performer. As the first artist ever signed to Shiner Records, the
pressure to deliver great Texas music is intense. But he does it. And he
does it with such enthusiasm and energy that just listening to the album
makes you want to call into work the next day because you are “not feeling
well” from the night before.

True to the unconventional nature of DLR, the lead track on this live album
is not live at all. “Lot” is a studio cut, usually reserved for the tail-end
of albums, that highlights DLR’s ability to communicate a snap shot of a
desperate life in thoroughly convincing fashion. When the live cuts start on
the album, I would suggest that you return the tray tables to their upright
and locked positions and extinguish all smoking materials. DLR pays homage
to his hometown right off the bat, with the tune, “Town Too Tough To Die,”
giving the story behind the song without missing one raucous beat. He
follows it up with the Matthew Ryan penned song, “Irrelevant,” which will
cause even the most casual listener to lose their minds at DLR’s talent for
song delivery. There are only two other songs on this album that come from
the pen of others — Steve Earle’s “Johnny Come Lately” and Sam Baker’s
“Truale.” The rest are pure unadulterated DLR. “Uncle Freddie Drove a
Tractor,” “White Trash Paradise” and “Smuggler’s Prayer” run the gamut of
themes and emotions and further remind us why we love live Texas music.
Speaking of Texas music, DLR gives us his ode to the genre that we all love
with the song, appropriately titled “Texas Music” that hits on themes that
all lovers of this music will be able to identify with.

Bottom line: Darryl Lee Rush gives us a pure Texas music album that is at
times rowdy, at other times serious and reflective. It makes us want to
consume copious amounts of Shiner beer and should be added to the collection
of any true Texas music fan.

by El Presidente

http://www.lonestarmusicmag.com/

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Popularity: 33% [?]

Darryl Lee Rush hails from Markham, a small farming town in South Central Texas. His roots are proudly referenced in his second recording effort entitled Live From The River Road Icehouse. As one might assume, this is a live album that was recorded at the River Road Icehouse, in New Braunfels, Texas. However, in addition to the live performances, there are two studio recordings that bookend the project, which are absolutely worth listening to as well.

Rush has an energetic, engaging performing style that is rather evident on this album. His simple, but interesting, songs and his amusing storytelling ability that is reminiscent of a southern Garrison Keillor or a fast talking Forrest Gump, as can be heard on “Town Too Tough To Die”, makes this recording a worthwhile album to add to your music collection.
The album opens with “Lot” one of the two studio recordings. It describes the bleak lot, or situation, of an impoverished woman. It’s good, but the other studio track, “Shotgun Annie”, is even better—possibly the best cut on the album. With its driving guitar riff and the inclusion of a sampling of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth”, “Shotgun Annie” explores the devastating effects that accompany the growth of a nation. He sings, “You know there’s blood on our hands and there’s dirt upon our faces/Forgive us all our sins and grand divine salvation/For the blood we spill as we build this brand new nation.”

The only songs on this album that were not penned by Rush are “Irrelevant”, “Truale” and Steve Earle’s “Johnny Come Lately.” Something about the performance of “Irrelevant” reminds me of Adam Duritz of Counting Crows. The cover of Earle’s “Johnny Come Lately” possesses the rowdy energy of the original, which works rather well for the over all sound of the album. “Truale”, which can be found on his first album, prompts the crowd to join in.

A notable aspect of this recording is Rush’s odd humor, which is evident in “Uncle Freddie’s Tractor” and “White Trash Paradise.” “Uncle Freddie’s Tractor” seems to be a crowd favorite. He introduces it by asking “You wanna hear Uncle Freddie?” and the modest crowd answers with enthusiastic cheers, as if they are quite aware of what is to come. If they haven’t heard the song before, they sure play along well. The song, complete with an impressive harmonica intro (the harmonica is a prominent part of Rush’s band), is simply about watching his Uncle Freddie’s tractor going back and forth. While the lyrics have no redeeming value, it’s sung with simple infectious charm. “White Trash Paradise” is a razor sharp composition that playfully pokes fun at the life of a stereotypical redneck.

Although Darryl Lee Rush may not have the most polished voice, he possesses the necessary sincerity and charisma to turn his music into a rather enjoyable listening experience that will surely garner a loyal and passionate fan following. It is quite evident from the energy that exudes from this live recording that going to one of his shows would be well worth your money. If you are hoping for an album with profound revelations or groundbreaking lyrical content, this album is not for you. Furthermore, if you want an album that will neatly fit onto mainstream country radio, I advise that you don’t pick this one up. However, if you’re simply interested in some good roadhouse style music, sung by a talented artist who is supported by an incredible band, then this is most definitely the album for you.

Popularity: 40% [?]