Archive for November, 2010

Scott Newton Photos for sale

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

www.WillieNelson.com is selling a wide selection of Scott Newton’s photographs of Willie Nelson & Family.

Scott Newton has been an avid observer chronicling the evolution of music, politics and his own personal life in Austin, TX for nearly 40 years. His career as a freelance photographer launched at the Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin’s most famous music venue during the 1970’s. It’s during this early phase the public began collecting the increasingly historical Scott Newton photographs.

Scott then did a stint at the Austin Opera house, owned by Willie Nelson and Tim O’Connor, and was the house photographer from 1977-1980. Scott had an opportunity to photograph such greats as Willie Nelson, Tom Waits, Ray Charles and Tina Turner just to name a few at this historic venue. Scott was also the on stage photographer for the famous 1970’s Willie Nelson Picnics. From the Opera house, Scott Newton went on to serve as the official photographer of Austin City Limits, now the longest-running music series in American television history.

Scott’s photographs have been in numerous national magazines, served as album covers and published in many books. In 2010 Scott’s Austin City Limits Photographs will be exhibited at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. He is also in production on his third Austin City Limits photo book to be released in the Fall of 2010 by the UT press.

Scott has had the honor of photographing Willie Nelson many, many times over the past few decades. His collection of professional photographs is tremendous. He’s hand selected the photographs featured below that will only be available within the Willie Nelson online store for a short period of time. Scott will personally hand sign each print.

All photographs in this collection are open editions and taken from the original negative or color slide. They will be printed on the highest quality archival paper

God Bless Willie Nelson

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

Kinky Friedman, Dick DeGuerin weigh in on Willie Nelson’s arrest

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

www.rollingstone.com
by Patrick Doyle

Willie Nelson was arrested last Friday by federal Border Patrol agents at a checkpoint in Sierra Blanca, Texas after they seized six ounces of pot off his tour bus. If convicted, the 77-year-old country legend could face extended jail time — the offense carries a minimum sentence of 180 days in jail and a maximum sentence of two years plus a $10,000 fine.

But the arrest doesn’t sit well with Texas attorney Dick DeGuerin, a criminal defense lawyer who recently represented Tom Delay and country singer Billy Joe Shaver, and was lawyer to David Koresh during the 1993 FBI siege of the Branch Davidian ranch outside Waco, Texas. DeGuerin questions the lawfulness of the search, which he says occurred 100 miles from the Mexican border. “It needs to be contested,” he says.

“It’s supposed to be a checkpoint only for aliens, and [agents] overstep their authority all the time,” he says. “I’ve had several cases from that checkpoint and they just use the opportunity to check out anybody they want to. If you have long hair, if you’re driving a van or it looks like you’re from California or you look like a hippie, they do profiling.”

DeGuerin’s advice for Nelson? “He needs to get a good lawyer,” he says. “I wish him the best.”(It’s unclear who’s currently representing Nelson.)

Texas personality (and perennial gubernatorial candidate) Kinky Friedman also believes agents overstepped their boundaries. “The real crime here is that it occurred in a county that is one of the headquarters of the Zetas,” he says, referring to the growing Mexican criminal drug cartel. “These guys don’t have bigger fish to fry? The Zetas are taking over their county and they’re busting Willie Nelson. That shows a real lack of priorities.”

Before Nelson’s Thanksgiving break, Friedman joined the singer on the road for three days while the duo worked on an upcoming fiction book together. “He rolls 24 hours a day,” says Friedman. “I couldn’t take it — staying out all night, smoking dope. And I was the youngest person on the bus.” (Friedman is 66.)

Photos from Farm Aid 25: Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Neil Young, Steven Tyler and more

Nelson has long advocated for the legalization of marijuana and has a history of arrests. In January, six of Nelson’s band members were issued citations in North Carolina for reportedly possessing moonshine and marijuana. In 2006, he and four others on his bus were issued citations at a traffic stop in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana after authorities seized nearly 1.5 pounds of marijuana and 3 ounces of hallucinogenic mushrooms. Nelson and tour manager David Anderson both paid a $1,024 fine and served six months of probation. “Both bus drivers were over 50 years old,” Nelson said at the time. “The other guys were 60 years old. My sister is 75, I’m 73, so it’s like they busted an old folks home.”

The alleged six ounces that Nelson was carrying exceeds the four-ounce amount that triggers a felony. “Many prosecutors and DAs disagree with how strict Texas law is,” says DeGuerin. “It was good several decades ago when they reduced small amount possessions to misdemeanors. Unfortunately, it left larger amounts to be felonies. I think the whole system needs to be reviewed and changed.”

(Mickey Raphael, Nelson’s longtime harmonica player, previously told Rolling Stone that the singer is in good spirits. “He said he feels great — he lost six ounces.”)

“It’s kind of surprising, but I mean we treat him like anybody else,” Hudspeth County Sherriff Arvin West told the El Paso Times . “He could get 180 days in county jail,” he added. “If he does, I’m going to make him cook and clean.”

That being said, DeGuerin doubts Nelson will see any jail time. “Well, he’s Willie Nelson,” he says. “He’s an American hero.”

“Willie is a great historical troublemaker,” Friedman added. “That’s the kind that’s moved mankind forward throughout history. Why wouldn¹t his life reflect his art?”

Willie Nelson and Family on Tour

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

dublin by you.
www.WillieNelson.com

 

December 2, 2010 Abilene Civic Center Abilene, TX
December 3, 2010 Spirit Bank Event Center Tulsa, OK
December 7, 2010 Ft. Smith Convention Cntr. Ft. Smith, AR
December 8, 2010 Crossroads Arena Corinth, TX
December 9, 2010 Vada heid PAC Mtn Home, AR
December 10, 2010 First Council Casino Newkirk, OK
December 11, 2010 Oil Palace Tyler, TX
December 12, 2010 Gruene Hall New Braunfels, TX
January 5, 2011 The Canyon Agoura Hills, CA
January 6, 2011 Chumash Casino Santa Ynez CA
January 7, 2011 The Catylist Santa Cruz, CA
January 9,10,11,12, 2011 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
January 14, 2011 Chukacha Gold Casino Coursegold, CA
January 16, 2011 Pechanga Resort Temecula, CA
January 18, 2011 McCallum Theater Palm Desert, CA
January 19, 2011 House of Blues Anaheim, CA
January 21, 2011 Northern AZ University Flagstaff, AZ
January 22, 2011 Buffalo Thunder Resort Santa Fe, NM
February 4 2011 Verizon Wireless Center Houston, TX
February 9, 2011 The Canyon Montgomery, AL
February 11, 2011 IP Casino Resort Biloxi, MS
February 13, 14 2010 Austin City Limits
Moody Theater
Austin, TX

Please note, always check with venue, or www.WillieNelson.com to confirm any thing listed here.

Monday, November 29th, 2010

This picture: Laura Skelding

Willie Nelson’s National Teapot Party Movement moves forward

Monday, November 29th, 2010

teapot
http://blogs.houstonpress.com
by:  Craig Hlavaty

If you are a cop in Texas – OK, a cop anywhere in the world – when you pull over a tour bus and out pops a gnomish man with grayish-red hair and you smell pot smoke, you smile and nod, get an autograph and go on your way.

It’s 2010, and we live in a world where Willie Nelson can still get arrested and charged with pot possession – in his home state, no less.

Friday morning, while Black Friday was a barreling down on your bank account and credit score, Nelson was getting arrested and charged with having six ounces of pot on his tour bus. Nelson was booked in Sierra Blanca just off I-10, paid a $2,500 bond and was released by U.S. Border Patrol agents.

Seriously?

Isn’t weed basically legal in Austin now? What backwoods Barney Fife is out there aiming for a 77-year old international treasure in a hoodie sparking up watching The View on a tour bus in West Texas?

And just like that Teapot Party was born. If the Tea Party folks can wring their hands 24 hours a day, why can’t the kindly potheads start their own party.

The party’s platform is “Tax it, regulate it and legalize it.” Its motto? “We lean a little to the left.”

This is Nelson’s first salvo in what will surely be a brand-new fight in the war against marijuana criminalization. As of late Monday, the Teapot Party had more than 14,500 Facebook supporters.

Willie Nelson & Family at the Fillmore, San Francisco (Jan. 9, 10, 11, 12th, 2011)

Monday, November 29th, 2010


Photo:  www.WillieNelson.com

Great news!

Super sleuth Janis from Texas alerted me about the news on the interweb that Willie Nelson & Family would be doing a four-day run at the Fillmore next January!  Nothing official on www.WillieNelson.com,
but the LiveNation site shows that tickets go on sale on December 2, 2010 to the shows!

Let’s get this Tea Pot Party Started!

Monday, November 29th, 2010

http://cannabis.mensnewsdaily.com

American music legend and NORML Advisory Board member Willie Nelson was busted, again, for possessing cannabis on Friday by a US Border Patrol outside of Sierra Blanca, Texas…about 30 miles from the nation’s border with Mexico. NORML warned cannabis consumers a few years ago about these roaming road blocks

Willie’s tour bus had to pass through one of these ‘border’ checkpoints, and after law enforcement claimed to have smelled cannabis, Willie was busted for possessing six ounces of cannabis.

In his first public interview post arrest, Willie tells CelebStoner: “There’s the Tea Party. How about the Teapot Party? Our motto: We lean a little to the left.”

For years NORML’s founder Keith Stroup has admonished cannabis consumers—the tens of millions of cannabis consumers in America—to stop voting for politicians who support arresting cannabis consumers.

If enough cannabis consumers get politically active and organize under Willie Nelson’s ‘Tea Pot Party’, voters in future may have a choice to support bona fide office seekers who support ending Cannabis Prohibition as Willie has just started a Facebook page announcing such.**

**And thereby ending the historical harassment by law enforcement of great musicians from coast to coast

Join Willie Nelson’s Teapot Party: Tax it, regulate it, Legalize it

Monday, November 29th, 2010

Join Willie Nelson’s Teapot Party at Facebook.

Let’s start a new party
There is the tea party
How about the teapot party?
Our motto:  We lean a little to the left
Tax it, regulate it, legalize it 
And stop the border wars over drugs 
Why should the drug lords make all the money?
And thousands of lives will be saved
What do you think?

— Willie

Thanks to Steve Bloom, of www.Celebstoner.com, for putting up the TeaPotParty Facebook page.   Like Steve says, “Let’s get this party started!”

Marijuana is not a crime

Monday, November 29th, 2010

marijuananotcrime

Tommy Chong supports Willie Nelson’s Teapot Party

Monday, November 29th, 2010

www.celebstoner.com

Stoner-comedy legend Tommy Chong has come out in support of Willie Nelson’s Teapot Party. “If Willie gets behind something, you know it’s going to be big and in your face,” Chong tells CelebStoner. “Any pot party is a wonderful idea.”

The Teapot Party is burning up the Internet. The Facebook page Willie Nelson’s Teapot Party has been “liked” by more than 4,000 people since its launch Sunday morning.

“It’s about time we did something pro-active now,” Chong adds. “We’re close – we just need something to push it over the top, and with Willie leading the way we’re as good as gold.”

Nelson, who was arrested with six ounces of marijuana in Texas on Friday, issued his call to form a pro-pot party in an email to CelebStoner: “There’s the Tea Party. How about the Teapot Party? Our motto: We lean a little to the left.”

NORML founder Keith Stroup also weighed in about the Teapot Party: “Smokers should never again vote for a candidate for public office who wants to treat us like criminals. If we would all do that, pro-pot candidates would begin picking up momentum, and before long, a majority of our elected officials would agree with the majority of the American public that responsible marijuana smokers should not be treated like criminals.”

Stroup has been a close friend and colleague of the Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter for nearly 40 years.

To show your support, go to http://www.facebook.com/TeapotParty?v=wall  and click “LIKE”

This day in Willie Nelson history: Willie Nelson member of the Grand Ole Opry

Sunday, November 28th, 2010

On November 28, 1964, Willie Nelson made his Grand Ole Opry debut, as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly Saturday night country music radio program broadcast live on WSM radio in Nashville, Tennessee. It is the oldest continuous radio program in the United States, having been broadcast on WSM since November 28, 1925. It is also televised and promotes live performances both in Nashville and on the road.

Willie Nelson at Red Rocks

Sunday, November 28th, 2010

RRwave

Had to re-post this picture Janis from Texas took, of Willie giving her a nice wave.  This is why it’s nice to sit by her at a WN&F show.

It all begins with a seed

Sunday, November 28th, 2010

welcome

www.centennialseeds.com

Willie Nelson and Family at the Abbott Methodist Church (7/2/2006)

Sunday, November 28th, 2010

028_28

Thanks to Janis Tillerson for these photos she took at the Abbott Methodist Church, July 2, 2006.

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