Fresh Bread

Steve Earle: I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive Reading \\ Old Town School Of Folk \\ Chicago, IL \\ 05.17.11

Steve Earle is currently on a book tour in support of his first full novel, I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive.  Last week in Chicago he read an excerpt, did a Q&A, and signed autographs at the Old Town School of Folk. 

Amanda Petrusich's It Still Moves Reading - KGB Bar 09.23.08

Last week I did something I don't normally do - go to a good book reading. The book in question is It Still Moves, the latest by author Amanda Petrusich.

Part travelogue, part cultural criticism, part music appreciation, It Still Moves does for today’s avant folk scene what Greil Marcus did for Dylan and The Basement Tapes. Amanda Petrusich outlines the sounds of the new, weird America—honoring the rich tradition of gospel, bluegrass, country, folk, and rock that feeds it, while simultaneously exploring the American character as personified in all of these genres historically. Through interviews, road stories, geographical and sociological interpretations, and detailed music criticism, Petrusich traces the rise of Americana music from its gospel origins through its new and compelling incarnations (as evidenced in bands and artists from Elvis to Iron and Wine, the Carter Family to Animal Collective, Johnny Cash to Will Oldham) and explores how the genre is adapting to the twenty-first century. Ultimately the book is an examination of all things American: guitars, cars, kids, motion, passion, enterprise, and change, in a fervent attempt to reconcile the American past with the American present, using only dusty records and highway maps as guides.

Anthony DeCurtis (contributing editor to Rolling Stone) review of the book:

“Like a smart, genial Persephone, Amanda Petrusich wanders the underworld of American roots music and reports back her insights with an open mind and an open heart. She has a respect for history and an even greater respect for the passion that keeps history alive and meaningful.”