The first time that I heard the Bottle Rockets was in an Atlanta recording studio. It was one of the intimate in-studio performances that had about 15 of us sitting on the floor while the band played a brief stripped-down set. Drummer Mark Ortmann played a guitar case.
The song that stood out for me at the time was “I’ll Be Comin’ Around.†Here were these four hillbilly-looking characters whipping out a slice of pure pop perfection. Sheer brilliance! Then I dug a little deeper into the band’s album From the Brooklyn Side and found that there was plenty more to dig. “Gravity Fails” is as sharp as it is gruff. And then there’s the alternative country classic “$1000 Car†with the quasi-philosophical question, “If a $1000 car was truly worth a damn then why would anyone ever spend ten grand?â€
Since then its been one shoulda been hit after another. Happy Anniversary fellas, here’s to another fifteen years… and then some.
About the author: Mild-mannered corporate executive by day, excitable Twangville denizen by night.