TOMORROW ON OUTQ: OLD GUYS WHO ARE NEW TO YOU (and new guys who sound old)

Longtime No Expiration readers know that every Wednesday morning, I go on SiriusXM OutQ's Morning Jolt with Larry Flick to talk about music. Tomorrow's theme, as the headline says, is old artists who may be new to you, and also some new artists who just sound like they are old. None of these artists are huge in the mainstream (yet). But you never know!

Charles Bradley is a 60-something soul singer who just released his debut album. So, he's a bit old for a debut album (but there's no time like the present) but he may be new to you.  No Time For Dreaming is out now on Daptone Records. No surprise there: it's the same label that Sharon Jones is signed to.  You can read Charles story on his bio at his official website. He spent years honing his very James Brown-like act, but he also has a lot of Otis Redding in him.  This guy can sing soul music because he's lived the life.  I gotta give a lot of credit to the label for signing people like him and Sharon Jones and letting them do their thing.  I should also mention that I was introduced to this artist by a former colleague at VH1; VH1 has been pretty supportive of him, and even recently featured him in a news segment.

Seasick Steve has been around for a minute, he's kind of like a rock and roll Forrest Gump in a weird way.  He's a 70 year old dude. Again, a bit old, but maybe new to you. He used to be a hobo, traveling the country by hopping on freight trains. In the '60s, he was friends with Janis Joplin.  In the late '80s, while working in a studio, he became friends with Kurt Cobain. In the '90s, he produced early recordings for Modest Mouse. And in the '00s, he started making his own records on customized guitars.  He recently signed to Jack White's Third Man Records.

I don't know as much about Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears, but they sound like an old time Stax band or something like that. They play southern sounding hard driving soul music. So I was kind of surprised to learn that they aren't that old. (They're a new band who sound older than they are.)  It is hard to imagine a band like this getting too popular these days, but I hope that they prove me wrong. If you went to a party and these guys were playing, you would probably be drinking, sweating and having a great time. Their new album is Scandalous.

Fitz & The Tantrums is probably the most popular group I'm bringing with me this week. I saw them perform in the SiriusXM studios recently, and I thought they were a hell of a lot of fun. They sort of split the difference between '60s Stax and Motown.  (Also a new band who sound older than they are.) They write really great songs in that style, but they don't sound like rip-offs. It takes a lot of earnestness to write like that, maybe that's why I enjoy them.  I would love to see them get huge. Their new album is Pick Up The Pieces.

I wrote about William Elliott Whitmore last night, so you can check out that post. I'll talk about him tomorrow as well. And we'll also probably discuss Ted Hawkins, a guy who signed his first major label deal in the twilight of his life.  Ted will get his own No Expiration post in the near future. I'm a big fan.

HEY, IT'S RECORD STORE DAY THIS WEEKEND!

Well, if you've been reading No Expiration, you know I love record stores, and more than that, I love rare tracks and B-sides. That's why Record Story Day is so cool! It encourages people to go into record stores, which has been such an important part of so many peoples lives.  I'm not saying that the decline of the record store is as tragic as, say, an animal facing extinction.  But it is a bummer that lots of kids have never known the thrill of going to a record store, thumbing through the racks, finding that hard-to-find record, or even finding something they've never heard before.  Yes, there were ornery record store clerks everywhere from the small indie store to Tower Records (see: Jack Black's role in High Fidelity), but there were also really cool people working at record stores, too, who could lead you to great music you might not have known about.

As for me, I'll be in class all day Saturday at NYU (a marketing class - interesting for sure, but not as much fun as going to record stores) and that night I'm seeing Chris Cornell's solo acoustic show in Montclair, New Jersey. And there aren't really any good record stores near me, anyway. But if there's one near you, do take advantage of it. You can learn more about Record Store Day at their website (you can find out where the closest record store to you is, and see a list of exclusive releases).  And if you're on Twitter, why not Tweet about your Record Store Day experiences (use the hashtag #rsd11, and follow them at @recordstoreday).  I'll tell you what, if I had my way, I'd head to Nashville to go to the Third Man Records store: Jerry Lee Lewis is performing there that day, and in true Third Man fashion, they're going to have t-shirts (limited edition, of course) promoting the show. Check this out below... how cool is that?

WANDA JACKSON: THE PARTY AIN'T OVER...

...it sure ain't!  Wanda Jackson's new album The Party Ain't Over is another great new album... 2011 is quite rocking so far!

I've been talking about this album for a while, ever since I heard that the album was being produced by Jack White for his label Third Man Records.

People will probably compare this album to Loretta Lynn's classic 2004 album, Van Lear Rose, also produced by Jack, and there are some parallels.  In both cases, he used his considerable starpower and cred to back a legendary woman who wasn't getting much mainstream attention. But they are very different artists: Jack felt that Loretta was one of the great, and under-appreciated, songwriters, and he used Van Lear Rose to prove it.

Wanda Jackson is totally different.  When you hear her today, she still sounds radical.  Like, you hear her voice, and wonder what ever gave her the idea that she could be a singer! So imagine how badass she must have sounded back in 1954 when she first hit the music scene. It was probably as abrasive and shocking as Johnny Rotten or Chuck D. She's in her 70s, and of course her voice doesn't sound quite so abrasive anymore, but still has an edge. And Jack White put together a band and found material that plays to her strengths as a singer. The songs, including Johnny Kidd & The Pirates' "Shakin' All Over," Bob Dylan's "Thunder On The Mountain," Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good" and the traditional "Dust On The Bible" work perfectly.  I don't think that the album is a classic on the level of Van Lear Rose, but it is a great album, and hopefully it will get some Wanda some new fans.

I also have to mention "The Third Man Records House Band," who are great: they include Ashley Monroe, who has worked with Jack White in The Raconteurs, Olivia Jean of The Black Belles (she also played in Karen Elson's band), Rich Gilbert from Frank Black's band, and drummer Joey Waronker who plays in R.E.M., among other folks. Great band!

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: STUFF YOU MAY HAVE MISSED - MUMFORD & SONS, SECRET SISTERS, GREENHORNES

For those of you who are new to No Expiration: every Wednesday morning at 9 am ET (ish) I can be heard on the SIRIUS XM OutQ show The Morning Jolt With Larry Flick. This week I'm talking about music you may not have heard yet.

The first artist is Mumford & Sons. Actually they are pretty huge, their music video for "Little Lion Man" has been viewed 13 million times or something on YouTube. But lots of people are just finding out about them now.  I describe them as a smaller, British version of Springsteen's Seeger Sessions Band. I had the opportunity to film them recently (I'll hopefully post a video soon) and was knocked out by how great they were.  Their debut album, Sigh No More, is probably one of the best albums of the year.

Another new group is Secret Sisters, an actual duo of sisters. They sound like they are straight out of O Brother, Where Art Thou, so no surprise that their self-titled debut album was exec produced by O Brother music supervisor T-Bone "Him Again" Burnett. I first heard the Sisters on a Third Man 7" single, produced by Jack "Him Again" White, and it has a much heavier, edgier sound than the album. But the album, which features originals, but also covers by Hank Williams and George Jones, is really good.

Speaking of Jack White and Third Man, they've just put out the first album in eight years by the great garage rock trio The Greenhornes, called ****. The reason the band were away for so long is because two of their members, bassist Jack Lawrence and drummer Patrick Keeler, played with Jack in The Raconteurs (and Lawrence in Dead Weather).

Black Dub is a new band led by the great producer Daniel Lanois and featuring singer Trixie Whitley, daughter of the late, great Chris Whitley. I just got this album, and it is really good. I'm going to write more about all of these albums, hopefully soon.

NOW I CAN WRITE ABOUT KAREN ELSON

Those of you who listened to my weekly report on The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick on SIRIUS XM OutQ this morning heard me sort of pull a fast one on host Larry. I was playing new releases from some well known singer-songwriters: James Taylor, Carole King, Jackson Browne, Jakob Dylan and Jack Johnson. I also came with some music from a new singer-songwriter, Karen Elson.  Larry, who has been known to get annoyed at my bringing in any record that Jack White has any part in (apparently Larry isn't a fan!) asked me, so who is she? He liked the first song, "The Ghost Who Walks."

So I said, "I was hoping you wouldn't ask." Larry immediately knew what was up and asked, "What's her relation to Jack White?!?"

"She's his wife..."

"@#$%^!!!"

But Larry had to admit that "The Ghost Who Walks" is a really good song. I have to admit, I was a bit worried about how *I* would like Ms. Elson's music. I mean, model-turned-rock-star-wife-turned-artist doesn't sound so promising.  That's not fair, and it's not right to prejudge, but I can't help it.  And anyway, in some interviews I've read with her, she's pretty much said the same thing, so I don't feel so bad. The fact is, the record is really, really good.  Jack doesn't write any songs on the album: he did produce it at his Third Man Records studio (so it sounds great) and he plays drums on lots of tracks, but that's it. The other guys from The Dead Weather are on the album, but it's not his project at all. She wrote her own songs, they are very confident and fully realized.  I bought two songs on itunes when they were released a few weeks ago, and was knocked out by how much I liked it. I bought the album, Karen Elson, and I think it's great. It's kind of like somewhere between Mazzy Star and PJ Harvey's quieter material.  So, it's another album that I recommend.

By the way, a few months ago, I mentioned that she sang on a remix of Robert Plant 's "Last Time I Saw Her" (the only original track off of his 2002 covers album Dreamland).  I just realized that it's available on his Nine Lives box set, and you can buy the track on iTunes.  It's a better version than the studio version, and Karen's vocals are cool - albeit really different than what she does on her record.

Here's a video of her performing with her band:

"RACONTWOERS" PLAY THIRD MAN RECORDS FOR RECORD STORE DAY

Record Store Day is coming up this weekend. The coolest place to spend it will be, unsurprisingly, Third Man Records in Nashville. The "Racontwoers" will be playing the store. It's the two guys from The Raconteurs who aren't in The Dead Weather. Guitarist/singer Brendan Benson and drummer Patrick Keeler will be playing some Raconteurs songs. That's pretty cool. I know that when Brendan does his solo tours he stays away from Raconteurs material (I think Jack White doesn't want anyone crossing projects: he only plays White Stripes songs with the Stripes, Raconteurs songs with the Raconteurs, etc). And supposedly Brendan didn't work with Patrick on his solo album so that it wouldn't be similar to the band. which seems a bit unfair: White works with bassist Jack Lawrence in Dead Weather!

Meanwhile, I just got a cool new package from Third Man.  It's a double LP including all the singles that they're released this year, including songs by The Dead Weather, Mildred and The Mice, Rachelle Garniez, The Dex Romweber Duo, Wanda Jackson, The Black Belles, Jack White solo and more. I thought that that would be the latest V.I.P. package, which would have bugged me as (a) it's supposed to be an LP, a 7" and a shirt and (b) most V.I.P. members probably bought all of these on 7" and (c) that means it isn't "exclusive." But Third Man says the next package will be an LP of songs recorded on The White Stripes 2007 tour of Canada, but they will mostly be songs not included in the Under Great White Northern Lights documentary/soundtrack. The 7" will be two unreleased Raconteurs demos, and the t-shirt will be a Dead Weather shirt that will "blow minds."

NEW DEAD WEATHER ALBUM ALMOST DONE

Jack White told Australia's Triple J Radio that the new Dead Weather is pretty much in the can, and he's about to start mixing it. He also said that they put the first two takes on the album on vinyl, which will go to Third Man Records V.I.P. members. Those aren't the final versions of the songs, so it won't be the "official" version of the album. Pretty cool idea.  I'm sure chatboards will light up with complaints that the earlier versions are better than the "finished" one.

In other Jack White news, Dolly Parton told Spinner that she may work with Jack on her next album. He got great results out of Loretta Lynn on her Van Lear Rose album, and of course he's producing Wanda Jackson's next album, the first single is out now on iTunes.

NEW FROM THIRD MAN: 7" SINGLES FROM WANDA JACKSON AND THE BLACK BELLES

Third Man Records has released two new 7" singles today. First, the well-publicized label debut from Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Wanda Jackson. Side A is Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good," and Side B is Johnny Kidd & The Pirates' "Shakin' All Over." Supposedly, there's a whole album to follow.

Also out is a 7" by a new group, The Black Belles.  They look like witches. They sound pretty badass though, I'm definitely psyched to hear more from them. They are like psychadelic garage rock from the mid '60s.  As you can see, they have a look.  There is a video coming out, directed by Jack White.

In the case of both artists, as is usually the case with Third Man 7" singles, Jack White is the producer. GREAT stuff.

WANDA JACKSON: NEW TRACKS DUE OUT THIS MONTH

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that Jack White is producing some tracks for Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Wanda Jackson. The first two tracks - covers of Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good" and Johnny Kidd & The Pirates' "Shakin' All Over" will be out on iTunes and on vinyl 7" via Third Man Records on January 26.

In other Jack White news, there's an extended verison of his recent Rolling Stone interview at their website. Although he is a great collaborator (both as a band member and a producer) he discusses, among other things, the chance of doing a solo album. 

THE LATEST FROM THE THIRD MAN V.I.P. CLUB

I've written about the Third Man Records V.I.P. club before: you pay $20 a month and get exclusive stuff and access to cool content on their website. I just got the latest package: it comes with a double live Raconteurs album on vinyl (2 LPs of course)The Raconteurs Live In London. Lots of great songs from both the band's albums and also a cover of the blues classic "Little Red Rooster."

Also included in the package is a White Stripes 7" with alternate takes of "Let's Shake Hands" and "Look Me Over Closely." And some kind of print that is a variation on The Dead Weather's Horehound album cover.

Being a member of this V.I.P. is definitely a luxury, but so far, they have made it pretty worth the money by sending lots of cool stuff out that you can't get anywhere else. 

THE WHITE STRIPES' "UNDER GREAT WHITE NORTHERN LIGHTS" BOX SET

Over the summer, I wrote a bit about The White Stripes ' upcoming documentary film, Under Great White Northern Lights. The band just announced that they're releasing a limited edition box set to promote the film: it will include a DVD of the film, a DVD of their 10th anniversary concert from Nova Scotia that will only be available with this box set, a 16 track live album on CD and 2 LPs, a 7" single (the format of choice of Jack White's company Third Man Records), and a hardcover photography book.  But it now, its $179.  After the new year, it will go up to $229. 

Speaking of Third Man Records, their latest 7" releases include a spoken word disc by BP Fallon and a group called The Smoke Fairies.  Both produced by Jack White of course.

JACK WHITE TO PRODUCE WANDA JACKSON

One of my
favorite records of the decade is Loretta Lynn's 2004 classic, Van Lear Rose, produced by Jack White. Now it looks like he is going to produce another female icon, Wanda Jackson, according to The Oklamhoman. According to the story, she's going to Third Man Studios to record a single, which I imagine will be publically available (as opposed to being a Third Man V.I.P. club exlcusive). Hopefully that will go well, and they'll do an album together. I guess Jack's latest tour with The Dead Weather is winding down; I know his next project is The White Stripes film and supposedly a new album.

ON iTUNES: THE DEAD WEATHER LIVE

I've been iTunes-less for over a month due to hard drive issues on my computer, but my "ordeal" is nearly over. So, I spend some time on the iTunes store today, and was psyched to see that The Dead Weather (Jack White's latest band for those of you who are new to No Expiration) have a live EP, Live At Third Man Records West.

Third Man is the record label that Jack started, and Third Man West was a temporary "pop-up store" in Los Angeles.

Speaking of Third Man, their recent 45" by the Dex Ronweber Duo featuring Jack White, which I thought was going to be vinyl only, is now available on iTunes. I'm not mad.

Finally, Third Man has announced that their next 45" will be a one-sided release by Carl Sagan. Yes, Carl Sagan. Not his first hipster band reference: in The Beastie Boys song "Hey Fuck You," Adam Yauch raps "I got more rhymes than Carl Sagan's got turtlenecks."

THIRD MAN'S V.I.P. CLUB

I just got the first package of Third Man Records ' Vault program. For a three month $60 membership, you get access to paid content on their website (and it's lots of stuff, videos, stills). But you also get a package in the mail every three months. So, now I have a sweet-ass Third Man Records t-shirt that isn't available anywhere else. I also have The White Stripes' Icky Thump in glorious mono on double vinyl. And a Dead Weather 7" which includes a cover of doom metal band Pentagram's "Forever My Queen," and another song called "Outside" (I don't know who that is by though). I wonder if enough people will think that this is worth the $20 per month to keep paying. I know there's a lot of collectors out there.

THIRD MAN'S LATEST SINGLES

Jack White's Third Man Records has announced its latest wave of 7" singles. One of them is an actual solo Jack White recording - "Fly Farm Blues" which he wrote and recorded on the set of It Might Get Loud. Then, there's a 7" by Transit - made up of employees of the Nashville Transit Authority. Finally, a single by someone named Dan Sartain.

JACK WHITE: ONE OF THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE MUSIC BIZ

Besides being one of the most prolific artists today, Jack White is a smart business guy - or is smart enough to surround himself with smart business folk.

His Third Man Records has a complex in Nashville with a vinyl record store and a film developing studio.

But even though Jack kicks it old school and is not a fan of the web, he doesn't pretend that it doesn't exist. Third Man has just announced The Vault, a paid subscription service that gives access to exclusive content for $7 a month. For $20 a month, you get all of the $7 membership stuff, plus a 7" single and a 12" single and a t-shirt every three months. They are made to order: after the first sign up deadline passes, they will print up just as much stuff as they need. That's a pretty clever way to engage hardcore fans in a meaningful way. I will probably be signing up for the premium plan, and I hope that this works our for Jack's team. Meanwhile, I can't wait to hear the Dead Weather record, which comes out next week. Check out trailers for the video for "Treat Me Like Your Mother" here. Yes, they did trailers for a video. It will debut on Cinemax on July 11.

In other Jack White news, did you know that he was a budding actor at one point? As a rock star, he has had cameos in Cold Mountain and Walk Hard, but an early film appearance, from his pre-White Stripes era, Mutant Swingers From Mars, is going to be screening at the Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival later this year. Check it out: I don't see Jack in it, but I am sold on this movie! (I found out about this at Twenty-Four Bit).