Source: ticketblogger.blogspot.com

Here our picks for this baseball season. Tell us yours.

AL East
1. New York Yankees
2. Boston Red Sox
3. Toronto Blue Jays
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Tampa Bay Devil Rays

AL Central
1. Cleveland Indians
2. Detroit Tigers
3. Minnesota Twins
4. Chicago White Sox
5. Kansas City Royals

AL West
1. Los Angeles Angels
2. Oakland Athletics
3. Texas Rangers
4. Seattle Mariners

NL East
1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. New York Mets
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Nationals

NL Central
1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Chicago Cubs
3. Milwaukee Brewers
4. Houston Astros
5. Cincinnati Reds
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West
1. Arizona Diamondbacks
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
3. San Diego Padres
4. San Francisco Giants
5. Colorado Rockies

World Series: Yankees over Cardinals

Source: morecowbell.net

Jason Isbell is one of the 3 guitarists & vocalists from the great Drive-By Truckers, and he just happens to be my favorite member & songwriter as well. I’ve been anticipating Jason’s solo debut since it was first talked about well over 2 years now (maybe longer?), and it appears as if it’s finally going to see the light of day on July 10th.

Not only that, but the 3 tracks from it up on his official myspace page sound absolutely killer.

‘Dress Blues‘ is a song that Jason wrote about his high school friend back in Alabama who was a Marine that died in Iraq. The lyrics are some of the most gutwrenching i’ve ever heard, and Jason’s solo performances of it have been stunning.

Watch Jason play ‘Dress Blues‘ solo as well as tell the story about his friend Matt Connelly:

Dress Blues - Live at Stubb’s BBQ (Austin, TX) 4/29/2006

But as great as the solo versions are, I really enjoy the full band spin on the song as well and think it adds a nice finishing touch. The female backing vocals (Shonna?) sound gorgeous as well.

‘Try‘ is a killer rocker with some spectacular guitar work, ‘Grown‘ is a really nice little number as well, with a reference to listening to ‘Purple Rain’, that I’m sure will go over nicely next Monday (4/9) when Jason and his band open up for Son Volt at First Avenue!

Monday, April 09
First Avenue
SON VOLT
with JASON ISBELL

Doors: 7:30 PM / 18+
Tickets: $18.00 advance / $20.00 door
Ages: 18+

Here are the rest of Jason’s upcoming Tour Dates with Son Volt:

Apr 8 2007 The Picador Iowa City, Iowa (Jason headlining show, no Son Volt)
Apr 9 2007 First Avenue Minneapolis, Minnesota
Apr 10 2007 The Vic Chicago, Illinois
Apr 12 2007 The Mod Club Toronto
Apr 13 2007 Higher Ground South Burlington, Vermont
Apr 14 2007 Pearl Street Northampton, Massachusetts
Apr 15 2007 Paradise Boston, Massachusetts
Apr 18 2007 Irving Plaza New York, New York
Apr 19 2007 Mr. Smalls Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Update: well this is a huge bummer… Jason is no longer in the Truckers