Livin': Sweet Tee!
Southern Brand Lil' Ones - Vintage Soft T's for babies and toddlers - have hit boutique shelves! We've begun shippin' orders out across the country and we'd like to give a great big thank ya! to some of the trend settin' early adopters who are samplin' our chili: LaLaLing in L.A. Wonderland in South Carolina, Genius Jones & Industry in Miami and City Cricket in SOHO.
"This Ain't My First Rodeo" seems to be a huge hit! You can check out the whole line of Lil' Ones t-shirts here. We also have long sleeve thermals, long sleve t's and onesies. Give us a holler at 305-573-3400 or drop us a line at info@southernbrand.com and we'll send ya a PDF of what's available.
Here's a bit about our wares:
We figured there weren't enough people out there makin' the kinda shirts we were always lookin' for. The kinda tees that feel like they been washed a thousand times with love by your mama, then hung to dry on the clothesline out back, just swayin' in the fresh summer breeze. T-shirts that are simple, bold, and uniquely southern. Not all that crazy, over the top printing on every inch including the armpit of the too-tight fashion tee. And not all that rebel flag, south's-gonna-do-it-again-southern that somehow seems to be all ya get when you google "southern t-shirts". We wanted to create a line for the Southern that we know. Small town America. Life through amber-tinted glasses. The sweet, smoky taste of some real pit BBQ. The steely sound of a slide guitar. The rumble of an old pick-up truck down a muddy dirt road. Sittin' on the front porch sippin' sweet tea, spittin' watermelon seeds and pickin' a tune. A brand built on truth, integrity and pride. Built on fillin' a need. By makin' the clothes we want to wear ourselves. Clothes we believe in. Premium quality. Classic American design. An honest product at an honest price.
Southern Brand t-shirts are made from sweet, soft cotton. From the dirt. Up outta the earth. They got some sun in ‘em too. And some soul. They’ve been put through an extensive vintage wash process. This produces distinctive weathering and classic color, resulting in a true vintage look and a super soft feel. We print with water-based soy and vegetable inks and use a non-formaldehyde discharge process. We don't use nothin' we wouldn't put on our own kids!
And stay tuned, we'll be launchin' Southern Belle and Southern Man shortly.
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Livin': B.B. King’s - Memphis, TN
These pictures are from B.B. King's on Beale St.
From my honeymoon. Yeah, that's right.
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Music/Livin': B.B. King - Sweet Sixteen
I learned about B.B. King from my Grandma Pearl about 30 years ago. She used to put on his records whenever we drove up to Buffalo to visit her. She's a real cool lady. Love you Gram!
The video above is from an amazing documentary someone gave me a few years back called Lightning In A Bottle.
Here's a bit about it from Amazon.com by Sam Graham:
Part concert, part history lesson, part summit meeting, and all blues, Lightning in a Bottle puts a bright spotlight on this quintessential American music. There are some heavy hitters at work here, both behind the camera (Martin Scorsese executive produced, while the film was directed by Antoine Fuqua of Training Day and King Arthur) and especially in front of it, with a superb house band and a mind-boggling array of musicians (including B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Solomon Burke, Keb' Mo', Macy Gray, the Neville Brothers, Robert Cray, and John Fogerty, to name but a few) performing at New York's Radio City Music Hall in February, 2003. The idea was to trace the music from its beginnings; thus we get an African song (by Angelique Kidjo), some early gospel blues (the great Mavis Staples), acoustic Delta blues, and so on, right up to blues-drenched electric rock and even some rap (a riveting version of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor" by Chuck D.). Virtually all of the immortals who defined the blues (Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and even Jimi Hendrix, whose fiery style is re-enacted by Buddy Guy) enter the picture, either through vintage film clips or new performances of their songs. One might wish for more insight into the influence of the blues on jazz (Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit," sung here by India.Arie, is a fine song, but it's not a blues tune) or country, but overall, Lightning in a Bottle is an edifying and, most important, highly entertaining portrait of the music and its heritage.
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Music: Bukka White - Aberdeen Blues
The great Bukka White (Born Booker T. Washington White, November 12, 1909, died February 26, 1977.) "Master of the National Steel Guitar" doin' his signature tune, "Aberdeen Blues." Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Legend has it that in 1947 Bukka gave a young cousin, Riley King, a red Stella Guitar. Riley went on to be known as The Beale St. Blues Boy, B.B. King. Also check out these videos of Bukka doin "Jelly Roll Blues" and "Poor Boy Long Way from Home."
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Livin': Karl vs. El Toro at Tequila Ranch
Southern Brand held it's annual holiday hoedown recently and although by all measures it was an unusually tame affair, Lil' Karl did not disappoint. He blessed everyone with a encore of his bull ridin' skills that were previously on display at Johnny Utah's in NYC a couple months earlier. This time, he climbed on El Toro at Tequila Ranch in Hollywood, FLA, and showed the ol' leather bag who's boss...almost...well, not really. Here's some pics. Thanks Karl!
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Music: Levon Helm - By Jim James
Here's a piece by Jim James of My Morning Jacket on the great Levon Helm. It's from Rolling Stone's list of "100 Greatest Singers Of All Time"
Check out the whole list here.
"There is something about Levon Helm's voice that is contained in all of our voices. It is ageless, timeless and has no race. He can sing with such depth and emotion, but he can also convey a good-old fun-time growl.
Since Papa Garth Hudson didn't really sing, I always felt that, vocally, Levon was the father figure in the Band. He always seems strong and confident, like a father calling you home, or sometimes scolding you. The beauty in Richard Manuel's singing was often the sense of pain and darkness he conveyed. Rick Danko had a lot of melancholy to his voice as well, but he could also be a little more goofy. They were all different shades of color in the crayon box, and Levon's voice is the equivalent of a sturdy old farmhouse that has stood for years in the fields, weathering all kinds of change yet remaining unmovable.
The best thing about Levon is that he has so many sides, from the sound his voice gave to the Band's rich harmonies to how he can rip it up on songs like "Yazoo Street Scandal," "Don't Ya Tell Henry," "Up on Cripple Creek" and "Rag Mama Rag." He can pop in for sensitive moments, such as in between Manuel's vocals in "Whispering Pines." And he laid down one of the greatest recorded pop vocal performances of all time: "The Weight." I was fortunate to get to go to one of his Midnight Rambles a few years back when My Morning Jacket were recording up in the Catskills. To see him walk out on that stage and sit down behind the drum kit in person was a thrill. No one else plays the drums or sings like Levon, much less doing it at the same time.
There is a sense of deep country and family in Levon's voice, a spirit that was there even before him, deep in the blood of all singers who have heard him, whether they know it or not."
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Readin'/Livin': New York Times: Delta Dawn
There was an excellent article in yesterday's New York Times by Dave Gardetta about Mobile, Alabama and how the city is evolving. It's accompanied by some beautiful and telling photography by Katherine Wolkoff. Check it out here...
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Music: Sunday Mornin’
JC doin' Sunday Morning Coming Down. Written By Kris Kristofferson.
Have a good one.
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