MIKEY CHUCK RIVERS - I'M ALWAYS DRUNK ON CHRISTMAS

Mikey Chuck Rivers - I'm Always Drunk on Christmas

Ho ho ho, ladies and gents! It's the BEERS TROVE with ANOTHER Mikey Chuck Rivers EP available for FREE DOWNLOAD, just in time and in theme for the holiday season!

"I'm Always Drunk on Christmas" is the seasonal companion piece to a few weeks ago's "I'm Always Drunk". Recorded all in Clinton, Ontario in Mikey's bedroom, the album offers three new Mikey tunes spiked with a little holiday flavour (and whiskey): the title track is a joking parable on the perils of traditional Christmas sloppiness, "Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Silent Night" is a festive fusion of a Scott H. Biram tune and a gospel classic, and "Pabst Blue Christmas" is just what you'd expect from Mikey by this point. As an extra bonus, the album comes with THREE interchangeable covers to choose from for your festive fancy. So get real close to the tree, get a hot mug of cocoa or beer, and let Mikey swoon your season with some soon-to-be Christmas classics for FREE DOWNLOAD!

Tracklisting:
1. I'm Always Drunk on Christmas
2. Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Silent Night
3. Pabst Blue Christmas

MIKEY CHUCK RIVERS - I'M ALWAYS DRUNK

Mikey Chuck Rivers - I'm Always Drunk

BEERS TROVE has two very exciting pieces of news for y'all. First off, BEERS have officially signed with Pint of Happiness Records! Secondly, Mikey Chuck Rivers' "I'm Always Drunk" is our first release with the label and is available for FREE DOWNLOAD!

"I'm Always Drunk" was written in bursts: two songs recorded after a drunken viewing of Easy Rider, one written specifically for this release, one written all the way back in high school, and one written by a certain K. West. The songs are all acoustic, recorded in Etobicrap and Kingston, Ontario, fueled by Pabst Blue Ribbon and tangled-up & fuzzy existentialist anxiety. If you wanna get hella heartbroke or get riled-up about unalterable circumstances, this is the perfect EP for your ears. If you're plum happy, hell, this'll still be alright too.

Stay tuned for the holiday companion piece "I'm Always Drunk on Christmas" coming soon!

Tracklisting:
1. Struggling With Being Same
2. Fucked and Not Forgotten
3. Lion Whisper (Midnight Oil)
4. Songs About Momma
5. Runaway

JOE DIFFIE - MR. CHRISTMAS

Joe Diffie - Mr. Christmas

I love me some Diffie. Throw a festive scarf around the man and I wanna curl up with his golden mullet even more. Mr. Christmas is an excellent little collection of holiday standards and classics, like any Christmas album, except all mellifluously bound by Mr. Christmas's sweet voice. Most people who know of this album know "Leroy the Redneck Reindeer," but the title track and his other original cuts are perfect for cocoa-sippin'.

ALAN JACKSON - HONKY TONK CHRISTMAS

Alan Jackson - Honky Tonk Christmas

Allmusic calls this one of the best country Christmas albums and who am I to disagree! You won't find many if any real traditional carols on this disc, but what you will find is a tree-worth plethora of twangy presents to unwrap. Al does the Hag right with his cover of "If We Make it Through December" and "There's a New Kid in Town" puts Jesus smack-dab in the middle of the talk of the town. Even the Alvin and the Chipmunks cameo is fun (I'll let you find that one on yer own so you can't skip it)!

MERLE HAGGARD - A CHRISTMAS PRESENT

Merle Haggard - A Christmas Present

"If We Make It Through December" holds a special slot in the Christmas music canon, and deservedly so. Like that song, all the original Haggard songs on this disc are the cream of the crop, slices of holiday cheer cut the way only Ole Hag could cut 'em. "Santa Claus and Popcorn" is a pretty subversive dig into non-Christian Christmas tradition, while "Bobby Wants a Puppy Dog for Christmas" is sort of self-explanatory. Nothing like Haggard for the holidays!

ALABAMA - CHRISTMAS

Alabama - Christmas

Okay, so the boys in Alabama are known to get a bit too, should I say, saccharine, so a Christmas album by yer favourite Fort Payne friends is gonna be PLENTY schmaltzy. It's still great and seasonally appropriate, especially "Thistlehair the Christmas Bear." And by especially, I mean oh god "Thistlehair the Christmas Bear."

RED SIMPSON - TRUCKERS' CHRISTMAS

Red Simpson - Truckers' Christmas

As previously and panegyrically endorsed on the BEERS TROVE, Red Simpson is a truckin' man whom we love and wholly endorse. This album of Christmas truckin' songs is, simply, a bunch of Christmas songs about truckin'. Whether it's Santa drivin' a big rig or a man on the road who wants to make it home for his little boy on Christmas Day, this is an undisputed holiday classic 'round this camp. His introductions to each song are alone worth listening. The highest of holiday recommendations.

CHRISTMAS BEERS TROVE

The BEERS TROVE is about to get a whole lot more FESTIVE.
CHRISTMAS is my favourite time of year, and COUNTRY CHRISTMAS music makes me wanna saddle up on Santa's sleigh with some Jim Beam-spiked egg nog and chuck presents at sleepin' kids.
So the BEERS TROVE is gonna give away a bunch of awesome COUNTRY CHRISTMAS MUSIC in the next few weeks.

YER WELCOME AND A MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!

THE HIGHWAYMEN - HIGHWAYMAN

The Highwaymen - Highwayman

You take a boatload of legends and what do you get? Quality ass country. If you're thinking putting Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash in a room was a bad idea, you got shit were your brain's supposed to be. They're all on their mark, all havin' a ball, and damn, it feels good to be in on it.

KRIS KRISTOFFERSON - KRISTOFFERSON

Kris Kristofferson - Kristofferson

I just read Ethan Hawke's extensive Rolling Stone piece on Mister Krister and it inspired me to delve deep into this dude. This is the first album and features some real classics: "Sunday Morning Coming Down," "Help Me Make It Through The Night," and of course, "Me and Bobby McGee." That's not to say there's not other awesome jams, because clearly a man of his grandiosity is packed with hits. A legend, no bones about it.

PHOSPHORESCENT - HERE'S TO TAKING IT EASY

Phosphorescent - Here's To Taking It Easy

Besides probably the best album title of the year, this fuzzy Alabama dude just writes some of the best beer-swillin', car-drivin' (but don't mix and match) music for the Hangover Monday types like me. And you.

BEERS - VERN DOUPE SESSIONS

BEERS - VERN DOUPE SESSIONS

Cactus Keith and I were bored one day and decided to get down some BEERS jams on digital tape before we forgot we even wrote 'em. All six songs on here are straight off the cuff no overdubs and totally acoustic. Sloppy? Sure. Awesome? Hell yeah. Get a taste before we do the real thang with Weebs Jr. and whoever else when we hit the studio this year, BEERS 2010.

1. Fish and Game
2. Girl, You Look Just Like My Jeep
3. It's A Harvey Thing
4. Tell Me You Don't Love Me and I'll Leave
5. Wasted on Salvation
6. Sty Chic

ROBERT EARL KEEN - WALKING DISTANCE

Robert Earl Keen - Walking Distance

Robert Earl Keen's one of those artists whose songs I heard and album covers I saw growing up playing and laying around the house and I never paid attention to. I finally succumbed after watching his half-face stare at me from his pink house farm thing for too damn long. God, it was worth it. "Feelin' Good Again" is just so somber with its optimism and whatever man, it breaks my heart in the best way every time.

DAVE DUDLEY - TRUCKER CLASSICS

Dave Dudley - Trucker Classics

Akin to Red Simpson, Dave Dudley sung golden trucker classics about, well, trucking mostly. There are other jams, like falling in love with a Native girl ("Squaws Along the Yukon"), battling a pool shark (uh, "The Pool Shark"), but closer "Freightliner Fever" has him spittin' out references to Merle and Willie and ole Red "I'm A Truck" himself, asserting himself into the badass canon of country. Dave, ya got it old boy.

HANK WILLIAMS, JR. - FAMILY TRADITION

Hank Williams, Jr. - Family Tradition

You all know Junior. If not, he's a bit of a gross little outlaw, son of a legend, daddy to a punk, scrugged up and messy in between all by himself. If he gets stoned and sings all night long it's just a family tradition.

BILLY JOE SHAVER - OLD FIVE AND DIMERS LIKE ME

Billy Joe Shaver - Old Five and Dimers Like Me

Besides being an incredible songwriter and musician, Billy Joe Shaver recently got acquitted from shooting a man in the face. Please read the fascinating and quotable article about the incident and trial I've got linked here below.
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/jury-finds-billy-joe-shaver-not-guilty-545112.html.

THE LOUVIN BROTHERS - SATAN IS REAL

The Louvin Brothers - Satan is Real

Cactus Keith and I once enjoyed the grilled cheeses and sweet teas at the Louvin Brothers Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. Everyone knows the cover to this album and how goddamn corny it looks, but trust me, there is substance here. Ira was known for getting shot by his wife and smashing his mandolin until he died in a car crash. That's badass.

SCOTT H. BIRAM - REHABILITATION BLUES E.P.

Scott H. Biram - Rehabilitation Blues E.P.

This dude got hit in a head on collision on his four wheeler, got up, headed to the hospital, then recorded this in post-recovery. Badass. If you don't already know this Texas as fuck, dirty old one man band then geez louise, pay attention sister. This E.P. is a mellower example, but with traditional tunes, some other covers including a Louvin (look back here soon for more of the brothers), and one original, you can't complain. The dude got hit by a fucking truck, man.

THE TAKERS - TAKER EASY

The Takers - Taker Easy

Virgil Dickerson has his face on the pulse of great alt-anything, be it folk, punk, or country, with his Suburban Home Records. The Takers fall into the boot-scooting bracket, playing what some may say is outlaw country but is really just some beer-swillin', day off of work, night on the town kinda jams. The production is what really wins it for me, sounding tight, polished, modern, and yet, somehow as loose and crazy as a prohibition era liquor run. Take a taste here and if you like it, buy the album straight from the Suburban Home website if you're feeling generous and, well, human.

JIM ED BROWN & HELEN CORNELIUS - I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO MARRY YOU

Jim Ed Brown & Helen Cornelius - I Don't Want to Have to Marry You

On the way home from a Shouldice Lake trip, I stopped at a garage sale where Highway 6 met back with 21 and let me tell you, this place was decked with a killer section of records. One of the six or so I picked up was an album called "Great Country Hits of the 70s" (as seen on TV!). The last song on the first side was a real slow, beautiful burner called "I Don't Want to Have to Marry You." It was pretty enough to warrant a hunt for the whole album. This thing is worth that song alone, though their harmonies kill all over it. Hell, this collab was so good, they broke up with their families and started sharing spit.

THE BEST OF RED SIMPSON

Red Simpson - The Best of Red Simpson

Truck drivin', cop respectin', country singin' Red Simpson: is there anyone more infinitely badass? He could sing a song about being a truck or about the highway patrol and make you feel for both of these cold, heartless machines. Every song is a highlight, so consider picking this guy up for your collection. We have his "I'm A Truck" LP here at the homestead and seriously, every song on it is about truck driving.

EDDY ARNOLD - AFTER ALL THESE YEARS

Eddy Arnold - After All These Years

Eddy Arnold is Nashville's classiest motherfucker. Besides helping to pioneer the Nashville Sound, this dude just sang some of the best country, pop, folk, whatever songs of all time. This is his last album, released when he was 87 years old. Sure, it's scraggly and rugged, but hearing him yearn for that polished Nashville sound through a hoarse geezer's throat is incredible and moving. Good on ya, Eddy. Support his estate and pick this one up if you see it around.

ALABAMA - AMERICAN PRIDE

Alabama - American Pride

I love Alabama. Guilty pleasure? No, completely, unabashedly, full-and-hard-on love them. Next year, BEERS (myself, Cactus Keith, and hopefully Weebs Jr) will head down to the Alabama Fan Appreciation Weekend in Fort Payne. This album has the gems: "I'm In A Hurry" is one of their most instantly recognizable, "Richard Petty Fans" is a slow jam about a NASCAR driver, and the title track takes an apple pie and a bald eagle and makes them fuck. Just do it.

HARGUS "PIG" ROBBINS - COUNTRY INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR

Hargus "Pig" Robbins" - Country Instrumentalist of the Year

Hargus is a blind man who plays some of the meanest pinanners around. You can hear him on old country (George Jones) to new (Travis Tritt), from Bob Dylan's "Blonde on Blonde" to Ween's "12 Golden Country Greats", and lurking about Nashville and beyond. This album is an instrumental, almost funky, incredibly synthesized solo record, but a nice taste of the skill of the Pig himself.

NASCAR: HOTTER THAN ASPHALT

VARIOUS ARTISTS - NASCAR: HOTTER THAN ASPHALT

I've been hunting this album down for a while now, trying to dodge the easiness of Amazon or iTunes. This thing has great tracks from Hank Jr, Alabama, Joe Diffie, Skynyrd, Waylon Jennings himself, and a few other pretty darn alright tracks. It's from the 1996 Season (released a day before Valentine's Day, to be precise), so that puts it at 14 years old. It's dated, fer sure, but it's a fun little treat.

BEERS - I LOVE YOU (BUT I DON'T TRUST YOU) SINGLE

Beers - I Love You (But I Don't Trust You) Single

This is BEERS' first single, "I Love You (But I Don't Trust You)", with the demo version and "Older Kiss" edition. The download comes in several forms of quality. It's real rich and free, so hit up this first post y'all!