It’s that time once again to reflect on another eventful year in the history of Twangville. As it turns out, we’ve been at it for close to five years now. Each year has brought new joy along with new challenges. Seeing as Twangville is an all-volunteer effort it’s never easy to find the time to keep content fresh. Each of our authors do this in addition to busy work schedules with several of us also balancing family life. If it weren’t for the amazing passion of the dedicated Twangville Posse this site would have ceased to exist long ago. In particular, the diligent work of Mayer Danzig has been the blood of life for our tiny town. I always look forward to my Sunday night emails where Mayer starts to organize our lineup for the week. As for joy, each year has brought a few fresh faces to roost. This year we welcome Eli Peterson, Jeff McMahon, and Shawn Underwood officially to the Twangville Posse joining our other authors most notably Todd Mathis, Chip Frazier, and Kelly Dearmore.
Also, I can’t help but look back to March when Mayer descended on Austin for his annual pilgrimage joined by our other SXSW correspondent John Anderson. The trip wasn’t in the cards for me this year but the thrill and enjoyment was still there through the reviews and stories those guys brought back with them. The similarities of the music showcased at the Texas festival and what you see here are for good reason. Austin is to Alt-country what Nashville is to Country which is why we are all drooling over the thought of dropping in on the town at any time throughout the year. Mayer and John could write dissertations on the ins-and-outs of the festival and it’s through them that I continue to discover great music.
Which leads me to a recent highlight. It was only a few weeks ago that I was invited to the home of the aforementioned Mr. Anderson and his lovely wife Amanda. The happy couple played host to touring musician Matthew Ryan who John had described to me as “a young Bruce Springsteen who grew up listening to the Replacements”. Now, I already possessed the majority of the catalog and liked his introspective songwriting but I wasn’t nearly as much of a fan as John and Mayer whom both designated his 2008 release “Matthew Ryan vs. The Silver State” as album of the year. All I can say is my friends never lie about pure talent. And pure talent can be measured in the living room of a twentieth century home with unintended acoustics and virtually zero amplification. Ryan happily plowed through about a double-disc worth of songs from his catalog with his throaty delivery and heartbreaking tales. The live acoustic guitar and harmonica kit combo really satisfied. Needless to say consider me now a huge fan. I highly recommend making a point of seeing Matthew Ryan live in any setting. Also, do yourself a favor and pick up his ’09 release titled Dear Lover. You can read more about the house party on the Metro Music Scene blog.
In other news, we started using a service called ReviewShine this year created by Larry Karnowski (Hickory Wind) and Sam Ubach. They describe it as a platform to connect promoters and bloggers. We’ve really enjoyed using it so far. It’s been a great way to reduce the costs of sending music to us along with minimizing the amount of disc that tend to pile up for music reviewers like us. Applause to those guys for creating something both economical and good for the environment. In addition to it being a great way for us to discover new music it has also been a catalyst for us in terms of creating a community among our small group of bloggers that we didn’t quite have before. I highly recommend it for any music promoters or bands looking to get their music heard by reviewers like us.
Last, I can’t go without thanking the many musicians out there who sacrifice themselves for the good of art and so that we may each have joy in our lives. I didn’t see to many live shows this year but I did fortunately get out to see Reckless Kelly, Sons of Bill, Lucero, and now Matthew Ryan. I honestly don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have music in my life. For people like me, musicians are the psychiatrists of life — the lyrics the prescriptions, the music the euphoria. Keep on truckin’ y’all.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Photo of Matthew Ryan by Ben Maphis of Ben Maphis Photography used with permission.
About the author: Washington, D.C. area creative by day. Music is my muse. I host Twangville’s weekly Readers‘ Pick.