Tim Newby's Blog

 Excited for the prerelease feedback I have been getting on my upcoming book "The Original Louisville Slugger: The Life and Times of Forgotten Baseball Legend Pete Browning". Swing by Charlie Bevis' website and check out his fantastic review of the book and then go ahead and preorder your copy today!

"Newby has penned one of the best biographies of a 19th century ballplayer ever written. This book is a superlative effort by Newby in which he not only examines Browning’s baseball exploits on the playing field, but more importantly makes the transition from historian to biographer to provide an assessment of the man’s inner character and explore how he coped with the cultural issues of a hearing disability and an alcohol addiction, all deeply supported by the best-extant research evidence" - Charlie Bevis, Bevis Baseball Research

Bevis Baseball Research - The Original Louisville Slugger

 Preorder your copy of The Original Louisville Slugger: The Life and Times of Forgotten Baseball Legend Pete Browning.  

The Original Louisville Slugger tells the true story of Pete Browning who was one of the greatest baseball players of the nineteenth century. His skills with the bat made the difficult art of hitting a baseball appear easy. Over his thirteen-year career, he won three batting titles, finished in the top three nine times, and was one of the premodern era's greatest hitters. Browning is recognized as not only the namesake but also the genesis for the famed Louisville Slugger, as the Hillerich & Bradsby Company shaped the first ever custom-made bat based on his instructions. 

Browning's athletic prowess was overshadowed by his drunken adventures and struggles off the field. A champion consumer of bourbon and a man with obvious demons, he led a life littered with eccentricities. During games he refused to slide and often stood perched on one leg. Known as the Gladiator, he drank tabasco sauce, washed his eyes with buttermilk, and named bats after biblical characters, all in an effort to improve his hitting. Few were aware that, behind the comedic persona, Browning suffered from mastoiditis, a devastating physical ailment that robbed him of his hearing, deprived him of an education, eroded his professional skills, and led to his heavy dependence on alcohol. Accounts of Browning's unconventional behavior were bolstered by his own outlandish storytelling. These stories were embellished by newspapers of the time, making him a legend.

Author Tim Newby addresses the myths surrounding the larger-than-life figure, uncovers the thin line between fact and fiction, and presents an extensive account of Browning―the man, and legendary ball player.

Preorder The Original Louisville Slugger

 Today would be a lot cooler if you preordered my upcoming book on 19th Century baseball legend Pete Browning for you and someone you love.

Louis "Pete" Rogers Browning was one of the greatest baseball players of the nineteenth century. His skills with the bat made the difficult art of hitting a baseball appear easy. Over his thirteen-year career, he won three batting titles, finished in the top three nine times, and was one of the premodern era's greatest hitters. Browning is recognized as not only the namesake but also the genesis for the famed Louisville Slugger, as the Hillerich & Bradsby Company shaped the first ever custom-made bat based on his instructions. Browning's athletic prowess was overshadowed by his drunken adventures and struggles off the field. A champion consumer of bourbon and a man with obvious demons, he led a life littered with eccentricities. During games he refused to slide and often stood perched on one leg. Known as the Gladiator, he drank tabasco sauce, washed his eyes with buttermilk, and named bats after biblical characters, all in an effort to improve his hitting. Few were aware that, behind the comedic persona, Browning suffered from mastoiditis, a devastating physical ailment that robbed him of his hearing, deprived him of an education, eroded his professional skills, and led to his heavy dependence on alcohol. Accounts of Browning's unconventional behavior were bolstered by his own outlandish storytelling. These stories were embellished by newspapers of the time, making him a legend.Tim Newby addresses the myths surrounding the larger-than-life figure, uncovers the thin line between fact and fiction, and presents an extensive account of Browning―the man, and legendary ball player.

Order The Original Louisville Slugger

 Bluegrass sensation Billy Strings has announced the release of his new album, Me and Dad, due out November 18, 2022.  

“As long as I can remember I wanted to make a record with my dad,” Billy Strings says, his dad, Terry Barber, seated next to him. “I’ve been burning up and down the highways the last 12 years, and as time slips away, you start thinking, ‘I need to make time.’ It’s been a bucket list thing for me, something I’ve been afraid I wouldn’t find the time to do. And that scared me; not doing this record scared me.”

That dream of coming together to make a proper studio album is finally realized with Me and Dad — out November 18 on Rounder Records. It’s a collection of 14 classics that Billy and Terry know like the back of their hands, from Doc Watson and Bill Monroe songs to hymns and traditional classics. It's the music that literally and figuratively made Billy the musician and human he is today with the finished album representing a lifelong goal finally achieved: a way for the Grammy-winning musician to honor the man who taught him how to play guitar.

Earlier this year, in the midst of his seemingly nonstop touring schedule, Billy brought his father from their native Michigan to Nashville’s Sound Emporium studios, along with an all-star band including bassist Mike Bub, mandolinist Ron McCoury, banjo player Rob McCoury, and fiddler Michael Cleveland. Jerry Douglas and Jason Carter sat in too.

Terry arrived with his cherished Martin acoustic, the guitar he played when Billy was just a boy and then pawned to financially support his family. When the guitar was sold, Terry thought it was lost forever — until Billy, who refers to it as “the family jewel,” located it online and reunited the instrument with its original owner.

“I’ve never been so dumbstruck in my life,” Terry says. “It was like bringing my mother out of the grave.”

It’s the sound of that guitar, mixed with Billy’s own playing on a series of Martins, that propels Me and Dad. Over its 14 tracks, father and son trade licks, vocals, and memories. On some songs, like the traditional “Long Journey Home” and Monroe’s “I Haven’t Seen Mary in Years,” Billy sings lead. On others, like the hymn “Wandering Boy” and the staple “Little White Church,” it’s all Terry. The decision of who would sing was hardly a decision at all, according to Billy.

“We’ve done these songs forever. We get to the part where someone has to sing and we’ll look at each other: ‘You or me?’ We’ve been doing it since I was 3 years old,” he says, turning to Terry. “I can’t play with anyone like I can play with you.”

“And I can’t either,” Terry replies. “I’ve tried, and forget about it.”

While that unspoken father-son bond is the through line of the record, Me and Dad is a true family album. Billy’s mother, Debra, lends her voice to the record’s final song, “I Heard My Mother Weeping.” “I remember him and my mom singing it when I was a kid so beautifully. I knew it was always going to be the last song on the record,” Billy says. “That’s me and my mom and dad. Just us three.”

Currently Billy is on the road in the U.S. through the end of November before hopping over to Europe for a number of dates.

(From Calabro Muisc) On October 14, via Howlin Rain vocalist and songwriter Ethan Miller's own Silver Current Records, Howlin Rain will release Under The Wheels, Vol. 5: Live from Pioneertown. This latest entry to the "Under the Wheels" live series showcases songs from the band's 2021 studio album, The Dharma Wheel, as well as, two fan favorites from 2008's Magnificent Fiend.

"Pioneertown was the last last show of the crazy year of 2021 and you can hear the 'whoosh' of energy and confidence, the extra drinks, the rules lifted in the high desert setting, the exhale of the finish line," says Miller. "I view Live from Pioneertown as the first big flag the new band has plunged into the moon to lay claim to the next step up the ever spiraling ladder of Howlin Rain's creative journey."

 Under The Wheels, Vol. 5: Live from Pioneertown is available now to pre-order HERE in a 'handmade' edition of 500 purple and silver or black color vinyl with all jackets screen-printed by Monolith Press and signed and numbered by Howlin Rain bandleader Ethan Miller. The live set is also available on CD and digital. The album's centerpiece, a 19-minute plus reading of "Dharma Wheel" is out today on all streaming platforms. Listen and share at: Bandcamp | Tidal | Spotify | AppleMusic | YouTube

Under the Wheels Vol 5: Live from Pioneertown by Howlin Rain

 (From All Eyes Media) - Eclectic Los Angeles band Dustbowl Revival have released the title track to their forthcoming digital EP, Set Me Free (out October 28th via Antifragile Music). A funk-inspired riff opens ���Set Me Free��� before the burst of horns that lead into a thick, sustained groove. 

The post-COVID track serves as a cathartic release following the recent uncertain times. ���When the pandemic put a vice-grip around the planet���s neck in 2020, it became hard to know how to process all the loss and fear as a band and as songwriters,��� says bandleader Z. Lupetin. ���This song was the first experiment with our energized lineup that made it through the years of uncertainty and has become our closer; a New-Orleans-funk-meets Pink Floyd cry to not wait for a higher power (God? Political parties? Corporations?) to save us, but instead to rely on each other to dig us out of the darkness.���

Set Me Free finds Dustbowl Revival recharged with a new outlook and new lineup featuring Z. Lupetin (vocals/guitar), Josh Heffernan (drums/percussion), and Lashon Halley (vocals) with the help of Ulf Bjorlin (trombone), Stephen Musselman (guitar/pedal steel), Yosmel Montejo (bass), and Leider Chapotin (trumpet).

 (From All Eyes Media) - Eclectic Los Angeles band Dustbowl Revival have released the title track to their forthcoming digital EP, Set Me Free (out October 28th via Antifragile Music). A funk-inspired riff opens “Set Me Free” before the burst of horns that lead into a thick, sustained groove. 

The post-COVID track serves as a cathartic release following the recent uncertain times. “When the pandemic put a vice-grip around the planet’s neck in 2020, it became hard to know how to process all the loss and fear as a band and as songwriters,” says bandleader Z. Lupetin. “This song was the first experiment with our energized lineup that made it through the years of uncertainty and has become our closer; a New-Orleans-funk-meets Pink Floyd cry to not wait for a higher power (God? Political parties? Corporations?) to save us, but instead to rely on each other to dig us out of the darkness.”

Set Me Free finds Dustbowl Revival recharged with a new outlook and new lineup featuring Z. Lupetin (vocals/guitar), Josh Heffernan (drums/percussion), and Lashon Halley (vocals) with the help of Ulf Bjorlin (trombone), Stephen Musselman (guitar/pedal steel), Yosmel Montejo (bass), and Leider Chapotin (trumpet).

 

(From Big Hassle) Acclaimed Nordic indie folk duo Tuomo & Markus have shared their latest single, ���Love Coming Down,��� available now via Schoolkids Records/Grandpop Records at all DSPs and streaming services. 

Musically inspired by the studio songcraft of Steely Dan and galvanized thematically by the #metoo movement, ���Love Coming Down��� heralds the upcoming release of Tuomo & Markus���s long-awaited new album, Game Changing, arriving everywhere on Friday, October 14. Pre-orders are available now. 

Produced by Tuomo & Markus ��� a.k.a. Finnish soul/jazz singer/pianist Tuomo Pr��tt��l�� and singer-songwriter Markus Nordenstreng (of Helsinki-based roots rock band The Latebirds) ��� in their native Finland and studios across the US, Game Changing also includes such captivating new songs as ���Wishful Information,��� ���Highest Mountain,��� and ���We���re Not Buying It,��� all available now at all DSPs and streaming services. The latter two tracks are joined by official performance videos streaming now on YouTube. 

Game Changing also includes the panoramic, paranoiac ���Predator,��� co-produced by Tuomo & Markus with multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Wilson (Dawes, Father John Misty, Angel Olsen) and available everywhere now for streaming and download.

Now, with the long overdue Game Changing, Tuomo & Markus have built upon their past triumphs and crafted something even more extraordinary, an urgent, electric collection of inventive improvisation and emotionally direct songcraft that simultaneously conjures both the Finnish north and the American West. From the morning call of the album-opening title track to the extended, winding roads of ���Aliens With Extraordinary Talents��� and ���Hearing Voices,��� the new album affirms Tuomo & Markus as uniquely visionary musicians whose roots and energies run long, wide and deep, through genre, era and geography.

 

(From Big Hassle) Acclaimed Nordic indie folk duo Tuomo & Markus have shared their latest single, “Love Coming Down,” available now via Schoolkids Records/Grandpop Records at all DSPs and streaming services. 

Musically inspired by the studio songcraft of Steely Dan and galvanized thematically by the #metoo movement, “Love Coming Down” heralds the upcoming release of Tuomo & Markus’s long-awaited new album, Game Changing, arriving everywhere on Friday, October 14. Pre-orders are available now. 

Produced by Tuomo & Markus – a.k.a. Finnish soul/jazz singer/pianist Tuomo Prättälä and singer-songwriter Markus Nordenstreng (of Helsinki-based roots rock band The Latebirds) – in their native Finland and studios across the US, Game Changing also includes such captivating new songs as “Wishful Information,” “Highest Mountain,” and “We’re Not Buying It,” all available now at all DSPs and streaming services. The latter two tracks are joined by official performance videos streaming now on YouTube. 

Game Changing also includes the panoramic, paranoiac “Predator,” co-produced by Tuomo & Markus with multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Wilson (Dawes, Father John Misty, Angel Olsen) and available everywhere now for streaming and download.

Now, with the long overdue Game Changing, Tuomo & Markus have built upon their past triumphs and crafted something even more extraordinary, an urgent, electric collection of inventive improvisation and emotionally direct songcraft that simultaneously conjures both the Finnish north and the American West. From the morning call of the album-opening title track to the extended, winding roads of “Aliens With Extraordinary Talents” and “Hearing Voices,” the new album affirms Tuomo & Markus as uniquely visionary musicians whose roots and energies run long, wide and deep, through genre, era and geography.

 Innovative guitarist Charlie Ballantine's latest album Falling Grace is out now along with a video for his take on Coldplay's "Fix You." 

About the album Ballantine says, "As I continue composing and producing music each album I do seems more and more personal and I have to dig deeper into my own life experiences to find inspiration.  This album was no exception and was created through the experience of revisiting my own struggles and tribulations with addiction as well as attempting to create a tribute to the people close to me who have dealt with a similar burden. Everything about this record was based around a sense of vulnerability.  From the way we recorded in the studio in a manner that prevented us from fixing any mistakes, the album art, and of course the subject matter of these songs.  My hope is that this album helps someone in the same way music has helped me in my most desperate hours and also sheds light on the fact that whatever anyone of us is going through we are never truly alone. "