scuttlebutt.
random rumors, rhetoric, reviews, reproaches & occasional GONZO remarks about anything or anyone on GOD’s green earth from the desk of Jason W. Ashcraft
Art by Clayton L. Luce
THOUGHT LEADERS to blame for this BLOG's very existence and my interpretation on everything...
“Like most others, I was a seeker, a mover, a malcontent, and at times a stupid hell-raiser. I was never idle long enough to do much thinking, but I felt somehow that some of us were making real progress, that we had taken an honest road, and that the best of us would inevitably make it over the top. At the same time, I shared a dark suspicion that the life we were leading was a lost cause, that we were all actors, kidding ourselves along on a senseless odyssey. It was the tension between these two poles – a restless idealism on one hand and a sense of impending doom on the other – that kept me going.”
“You’ve got to know your limitations. I don’t know what your limitations are. I found out what mine were when I was twelve. I found out that there weren’t too many limitations, if I did it my way.”
“Don’t ever try and be like anybody else and don’t be afraid to take risks.”
“I learned some invaluable lessons in Nashville that apply to both farming and showbusiness: Do not corner something you know is meaner than you; keep skunks of all kinds at a distance; if you forgive your enemies, it messes up their heads.”
“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
“All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”
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GONZO OP-ED: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Filing A Complaint With All The Pay-For-Play Fake Media Fugazis Out There Trying To Destroy Journalism & Preying Upon The Finances Of Unsuspecting Recording Artists
You know, that “freedom of the press” clause that our founding fathers decided was important enough to include as part of our first amendment? Apparently it’s under attack in more ways than one in 2024. The lines are being increasingly blurred of who is actually considered “press” or “media” and who isn’t.
PHOTOS & GONZO ART: 2024 Bourbon & Beyond Festival in Louisville, Kentucky
A photo reel of some of the best artists and performances at the 2024 Bourbon & Beyond Festival in Louisville, Kentucky. Plus, a couple GONZO inspired art pieces that were commissioned.
From Saving Country Music: Biggest Takeaways from Record-Breaking Bourbon & Beyond Fest
Now that it’s all in the books—and after four long days of humpin’ around from stage to stage in the middle of a late season Ohio River Valley heat wave—here are some of the things that were seen and heard.
From Saving Country Music: Cody Jinks Talks New Album, New Music, New Sobriety
[Cody Jinks at 2024 Bourbon & Beyond | Photo: Jason W. Ashcraft] Editor’s Note: This interview was conducted by Jason W. Ashcraft, with additional reporting by Kyle “Trigger” Coroneos. Photos by Jason W. Ashcraft. Original story at: SavingCountryMusic.com – – – –...
Bourbon & Beyond Bound: Reporting for Saving Country Music
Stay tuned for a post-event recap on SCM of what I saw, heard and discovered at what is likely going to go down as the largest ever music festival to take place in Louisville, Kentucky.
Don’t call it a comeback…I’ve been here for years.
A quick look back at how I got here and where I think I am going in this crazy music business, and why I’m resurrecting this BLOG in 2024j…
OP-ED: JWA Media, Along With Other Former Associates, Gives Testimonial To Saving Country Music About Prior Employment Experience With 2911 Media & Disgraced Publicist & Manager, Kirt Webster
Please forgive me while I must use this space and platform to exercise my 1st Amendment right, while helping initiate some much needed house-cleaning within the music industry. Anyone that knows me well, or for a long time, knows that I say exactly what I mean, and mean exactly what I say.
Music Break: End of November Remembering
On May 15th of 2012 I lost my first Doberman Pinscher, Boris. Very suddenly. Soon after that I wrote a gut-spill blog post titled “Mid-May-Mourning” to this blog. Today, on November 30, I’ve lost my second Doberman Pinscher, Ballack. Once again, very suddenly. And...
Album review: Eternally Even by Jim James
Jim James has cultivated a reputation for being an experimental musician, not pledging allegiance to any one style of sound.
Forecastle Festival Continues to Grow and Evolve into 2016
Once upon a time, in July of 2002, a grassroots-organized neighborhood gathering of music, art and activism took place in a quaint little patch of grass in the Fredrick Olmsted-designed Tyler Park. Located in the heart of the Highlands neighborhood in Louisville,...
Food, guns and fun with the Thompsons at GonzoFest 2016
So, it’s been awhile, right? This blog. I barely post to it anymore since joining the ranks of junkyard dogs over at GonzoToday.com. Nonetheless, great things are brewing in the world of GONZO. Somehow, I’ve found myself right in the middle of the madness, assuming...
Ralph STEADman on the passing of fellow Englishman, David Bowie
Greetings GONZO lovers! I’ve had the privilege of being able to dialogue with Mister Ralph STEADman via email over many different subjects in the last few months. MANY subjects. Most of these conversations between him and I will remain private until the time comes...
The Boulder Bounce Off – 22Nov2015
When I landed at 4:20 pm MT in Denver, Colorado, I suddenly decided to skip my connecting flight back to Louisville. I just had endured yet another corporate bullshit onslaught of trade show hell in Las Vegas for a week. F*ck it. Unplanned sabbatical time to mountains...
Music break: Mid-May-Mourning
My best friend of the last 12 years has come to pass on this mid-May afternoon. Boris, my Doberman Pinscher, has now joined our creator in the heaven above, and did so peacefully. I could not have wished for a more perfect situation for the most loyal friend I’ve ever...
The Hag and The Highwayman Hearten Horseshoe
Merle Haggard & Kris Kristofferson’s March 4th, 2011 gig at Horseshoe Casino was billed as an “acoustic performance.” But, upon first entering The Showroom, the first thing I laid eyes on was a couple of Fender Telecasters sitting in their cradles.