You ever seen the meme that's like, "Men love to show you YouTube videos, it's a very important ritual in their culture," or whatever? Something like that.

This send is dedicated to and inspired by a late-night YouTube session I had with Promontory Paul last week when he was putting the finishing touches on a wedding speech that can only come at 2:43 AM.

Speaking of Promontory Paul, you may know him as the author of the zine's "Old Tune Revue," which catalogues some of the oldest songs still being played on stage by our favorite bands in 2025. One of our favorite parts of listening to Billy Strings is getting lost in the histories and stories of the songs he chooses to cover at his shows.

The two songs in this little post — "If Your Hair's Too Long" and "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke" — aren't old enough to be fit for the "Old Tune Revue," we thought we'd toss them in a Smokestack and give you a little YouTube dive for your week.

"If Your Hair's Too Long"

While Billy Strings has turned this one into a live favorite, have you seen the original sketch it comes from? The song pokes fun at those who judge a person's moral character by their outward appearance. We got that for you here, as well as an interview with the producers.

"Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (That Cigarette)"

"Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (That Cigarette)" is a new tune Billy, Bryan, and Royal have been bringing to their tour of late. (3 times as of this writing.) This song, written by Merle Travis and Tex Williams, has lyrics equally as funny as, if not funnier than, "If Your Hair's Too Long."

I had never heard this one before I listened to Billy, Bryan, and Royal's Owensboro, KY, show the other day, and it piqued my interest, so I gave it a bit of an internet search. It's worth giving all of these versions a listen—Commander Cody's 70s machismo quickly stood out as a personal favorite, and I'll be tossing that on next time I have control of the music with a group of friends.

Here's a YouTube playlist, featuring six unique versions worth sharing:

1. Tex Williams – 1947
2. Merle Travis & Tennessee Ernie Ford – 1960
3. Grandpa Jones — 1969
4. Commander Cody — 1970
5. Doc & Merle Watson — 1982
6. Billy, Bryan, and Royal — 2025

Fall Tours On Our Radar

Doing this in a pretty haphazard way, but this is an example of a Smokestack section I'd like to build out as a source of non-arena shows (where beer isn't $16) to keep on your radar if they're coming through your area. Two on the top of my head that I wish I could see this fall, if they were rolling through New York:

1. The Jacob Joliff Band
   1. All over, with a Pacific Northwest center of gravity
   2. Been lucky to see Jacob on the mandolin a bunch of times, as he's in Brooklyn a lot. I love it every time.
2. Valley Flower
   1. NC-VA-DC-PA
   2. Buy tickets to their Charleston Pour House show here, shouting them out because they're a zine sponsor + we love Valley Flower so go on and support 'em!!!

Who else should we be looking out for? I'd like to build out this section, and I could use some contributors with their ears to the tunes around the U.S.

Be well...zine's printing this week...