Texas musician gets his shot at national television audience in a “Docu-Reality” show set to air in more than 140 U.S. markets (Austin, Texas – Sept. 19th, 2011) Austin based singer-songwriter and guitarist, Woody Russell, has been a busy man throughout his two decade long career. But, for the past year, he's been working harder than ever following the release of his latest album, Up Against It . Requests for interviews and garnering the attention of national press with a glowing …

Since I rarely post blog updates, I thought it might be a good thing to share a quick blog link to the new TV series I've been selected to be a part of. They've already begun filming my work for the 22 part documentary which begins airing in September on the CW Network in the US, as well as, in parts of Europe. 

Follow their blog right here:
"Troubadour TX" TV Series 

Clearly, I am not much of a blogger. In fact, I haven't posted a single thought since August of last year... not that I haven't had any thoughts, I just have not had the time - or maybe I haven't managed my time well enough - to construct another article for the "Thot Spot". Nonetheless, on the heels of one of the busiest weeks for Austin musicians all year, myself included,  - SxSW week - here I sit at my computer with a thought or ten to share. This past week has allowed me an …

Today I, along with three other musicians, played the blues for some hungry kids at a small community center. These kids probably came to eat lunch because it wasn’t being provided for them at home. That is the most likely scenario considering the details provided to me about the gig by Jose Ruiz, a terrific harmonica player I work with. You’ve heard him on my new album, “Up Against It”. These are the same kids that knock on Jose’s mother’s door for breakfast in the …

It was that time again, the time when Austin becomes the center of the universe for thousands of musicians and music-biz types. It's madness, chaos and ridiculously bloated and noisy. Fun in a Vegas sort of way: a huge financial bleed from most musician’s pocketbooks and a massive payoff to the casino bosses. This year, $100 million was reported to be the take at our beloved little festival/conference and 99% of the musicians making the wheels spin on this bus made exactly zip, nada, squat, …

Yesterday evening I received feedback from a submission of a song to an "industry professional", a gatekeeper if you will, regarding a piece of music from my film music portfolio. I submitted the song to this individual who was seeking a piece of slow tempo jazz, knowing my track was going to be a bit more adventurous than he was looking for as it includes orchestral elements and a few minor 2nds (odd sounding, "jazzy" chords). Nonetheless, as a film cue (a section of music …

Is this to be my last CD release? I don’t mean that I won’t continue to make music. But, with CD sales, physical music product sales plummeting, I may have to join the ranks of artists who are choosing strictly digital delivery of their work. Now that, my friends, saddens me. Anyone who has any cherished vinyl left to spin on their turntables knows of what sadness I speak. The tangible quality of the physical product, be it vinyl or CD, is something that will forever be missed in my world if …

I’ve read, on a couple of occasions, reviews that hammer a blues artists work if it reveals too much of that artists political views. To suggest that the blues, or any form of music for that matter, should refrain from social commentary is – in my opinion – just downright ridiculous. The blues, as I know it, is fundamentally a social commentary; political or otherwise. To say that it should exclusively remain “party” music and offer no other vision, no other …

Ray Charles. I know, there was a great movie that really painted a beautifully messed up portrait of a gifted musician. It was a cool flick, and it’s hard to make movies about musicians that really get it. And yes, I know it was years ago now. I’m not talking about that Ray. I’m talking about the Ray Charles that I keep discovering the more I continue to study the man’s recordings. Many of them reference “the genius of Ray Charles”, and they aren’t wrong in …

Okay, it’s most often laughable when music fans want to discuss the validity or genuineness or “real” quality of any given blues artist – particularly in respect to watching and subsequently commenting on a YouTube video. It’s often just downright pathetic the arguments people have on YouTube about nearly any given artist. “This guy is okay, but he ain’t no SRV” or “BB King isn’t real blues compared to…” etc. etc. It’s just …

This is a blog I posted elsewhere earlier this year. I thought it would be relevant to include on my new site because, well, I'm a big fan of Robert Cray and this post leads, somewhat, into the "Blues Argument" post that is most recent. Tuesday, July 14, 2009 Robert Cray at Floores Country Store I wouldn't consider even trying to write a technical, balanced "review" of his show last Sunday evening, but I will try to impart some reason to blog about it here. If you've …