I once made my fiancé a mix CD of Damien Jurardo songs that she refused to listen to because of the songs of his I’d played for her before. She liked a lot of them, but stated they were “so sad.†A few months later I was having a discussion with her dad about Jason […]
Todd’s Tops of 2013
A little more rockier than most twangers, but here’s what’s been lighting up my ears for the past year. Happy New Year! 1. Jason Isbell – Southeastern – Just damn fine songwriting with minimal production shows a sober, reflecting Isbell at his best. 2. BRMC- Specter at the Feast – This band keeps getting better […]
Butch Walker, Peachtree Battle-EP
I like Butch Walker. His new EP is good. It is very fun. One time I shot a squirrel too. Oh sorry, I’ve been reading my daughter’s 1st grade journal. I’ll try to be a bit more sophisticated, as this EP does deal with death and Butch rushed the release so his father could hear […]
High Cotton: a Tribute to Alabama
Riding around with mom in the back seat of the family’s 1980’s Buick, I distinctly remember the sounds of Alabama coming from the tape deck or Whistle 100, the local country radio station. I could sing every word of their Christmas album at 10 years old. And even my dad, who didn’t really get into recorded […]
Twangville Music Fest! Night 1
A couple of weekends ago 7 of our 9 contributors from this little site we call Twangville met in Boston for the second showcase we’ve put together boasting the Twangville moniker. And when I say “we†put it together, I’m really just saying “Mayer†put together. I volunteered to post a few words about Friday […]
Todd’s Tops of 2012
There were a lot of songs from 2012 that I enjoyed, but not a lot of albums. Maybe because I can only listen to so much new music without getting jaded or maybe it is still a time for singles. Or maybe, just maybe, I didn’t hear your favorite record yet and haven’t been converted. All of my top […]
Dwight Yoakam: A Thousand Miles from Nowhere
Don McLeese’s new book entitled Dwight Yoakam: A Thousand Miles from Nowhere, and released by University of Texas Press, gives an almost academic look at Dwight’s recording career and rise to stardom. While the book isn’t exactly a chapter to chapter account of each release or milestone, it is pretty close, leaning a bit heavier […]
John Fullbright/From the Ground Up
About a year ago, (or longer…time escapes me) I had the pleasure of catching John Fullbright play a show with Sam Baker and Natalia Zukerman at a local club here in Columbia, South Carolina. I’d never heard of Fullbright, but I enjoyed his songs as much or more than Baker’s, the reason I’d came to […]
Company/Dear America,
There’s a Charleston, South Carolina band that goes by the moniker Company, not to be confused with the Brooklyn band of the early 2000’s of the same name. (Or the cover band that also apparently plays in Charleston called “The Company Band.â€) Unlike the folkier rock of the Brooklyn band, the Charleston collective focuses on […]
Damien Jurado/Maraqopa
Opening with the raucous “Nothing Is The News†(featuring an excellent rambling lead guitar) I immediate thought that Jurardo had taken a cue from Neil Young’s Crazy Horse adventures, or his own I Break Chairs days, but, as I soon found out, that only lasts for one track. “Life Away from the Garden,†the second […]