The Cinefamily Country Christmas Party – Saturday! Heartworn Highways / Steve Young / I See Hawks in L.A.!

Howdy Pardner!  This Saturday mosey on down to the Fairfax district in good old LA and check out The Cinefamily Country Christmas Party!

The night will be far from silent!  After a screening of James Szalapski’s outlaw country classic Heartworn Highways we will be graced by live sets from renegade picker Steve Young and I See Hawks in L.A.!


Steve Young has never fit comfortably into categories, weaving together Southern roots with a wide experience of life, and creating new traditions in American music. He has worked with musicians like Van Dyke Parks and Stephen Stills, at one point holding a day job as a mailman. A major-label record deal led to a short-lived stint with a psychedelic country-folk band, Stone Country.  Settling into a solo career, Steve Young became an integral part of the movement which defined the California country-rock sound.

God bless James Szalapski for craftingHeartworn Highways (shot in ’75, released in ’81) because today’s audience is more receptive than the one that existed during its bleak, brief original theatrical release. Heartworn is for music lovers that like to jam tunes, get wasted and watch dogs bark and trucks pass by, for people who like hyper-analyze Charlie Daniels’ wardrobe. Check out Steve Earle (just past being a teenager) rail on “Mercenary Song”, follow Townes Van Zandt on a guided shotgun tour of the gargantuan rabbit holes on his property, then pay attention as David Allen Coe chews out some prisoners and delivers them gospel. At the time Heartworn Highways was released, the music was labeled New Country, but the reality is that this is country music at its finest, teetering on the edge of relevancy and engaging the audience on their terms, dixie-fried, southbound and down.


by Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Unknown's avatar

About Jay Babcock

I am an independent writer and editor based in Tucson, Arizona. I publish LANDLINE at jaybabcock.substack.com Previously: I co-founded and edited Arthur Magazine (2002-2008, 2012-13) and curated the three Arthur music festival events (Arthurfest, ArthurBall, and Arthur Nights) (2005-6). Prior to that I was a district office staffer for Congressman Henry A. Waxman, a DJ at Silver Lake pirate radio station KBLT, a copy editor at Larry Flynt Publications, an editor at Mean magazine, and a freelance journalist contributing work to LAWeekly, Mojo, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Vibe, Rap Pages, Grand Royal and many other print and online outlets. An extended piece I wrote on Fela Kuti was selected for the Da Capo Best Music Writing 2000 anthology. In 2006, I was somehow listed in the Music section of Los Angeles Magazine's annual "Power" issue. In 2007-8, I produced a blog called "Nature Trumps," about the L.A. River. From 2010 to 2021, I lived in rural wilderness in Joshua Tree, Ca.

Leave a comment