While listening to the latest release from South Carolina’s The Restoration, one almost wishes there was a novel accompanying the disc. While I’m guessing that one does in fact exist, it may never leave the mind of brainchild Daniel Machado. Not the whole novel, anyway. Many pieces and parts of it are scattered throughout, but […]
Lissie/Catching A Tiger
So, for the last couple of weeks I’ve been riding around with Lissie in the car. And no matter how hard I try, I can’t get past second base. Sorry, I meant the second track. I’m not sure if it’s the pounding bass or the hooky repeating guitar line or the chorus that sticks in […]
Todd’s Mid-Year Review
So here it is halfway through 2010 and I’m in (mostly) a rock and roll mood. Here’s what has been blasting my speakers of late: The Hold Steady/Heaven is Whenever: The band just keeps getting better with each release still kickin’ out the positive jams with more conviction and enthusiasm as ever. And there are […]
Riley Baugus and Tim Eriksen/Winston-Salem, NC/May 22, 2010
I stumbled upon a great show the other night in Winston-Salem, and by stumble, I mean I had to be there to play myself. My band was playing the late show at the Garage, and the early show was a couple of banjo/fiddle players that had composed the soundtrack for the film Cold Mountain. I […]
Todd Snider/Live at the Visualite Theatre/Charlotte, NC/April 15, 2010
He’s been driving around this country for 15 years making this shit up as he goes along and playing it for anyone that will listen. Some people say his stuff is a bit opinionated, and while this may be true, he does not sing anything to try to change your mind, but rather to ease […]
Confederate Fagg
While we here at Twangville mostly focus on the country/alt-country/hillbilly side of things, some of us have a soft spot for metal…gay metal. And there is no better gay metal band than South Carolina’s own Confederate Fagg. This past weekend, the boys got together to play a rally organized by City of Columbia mayoral candidate […]
Butch Walker and The Black Widows/I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart
Let’s flash back to 1996…or 1997. I’m in college at the time, and on this particular night at a small club in Columbia, South Carolina named the Elbow Room checking out the Drag from Myrtle Beach. They put on a pretty good show but weren’t quite as grand as I had hoped. (Not the Southern […]
Todd’s Tops of 2009
With the end of another calendar year, comes the “Best Of Lists†galore from everyone from Oprah to Obama encompassing books, food, music, and who knows what else. So, since I have a space here on Twangville, I figured I’d throw my 2 cents worth in on the music side. I’m going second because I […]
Todd’s Christmas List
I have been trying and trying to listen to some new releases lately, but my 3 year old daughter insists that we listen to Christmas music. About 3 weeks ago I checked out an Ella Jenkins disc of holiday tunes for her from ye ole public library, and that has not left my car speakers […]
Charlie Louvin/Live at the White Mule/Columbia, SC/November 12, 2009
Like many from my generation, (I’m guessing) I first learned of the Louvin Brothers after hearing Uncle Tupelo’s cover of “Atomic Power.†It was a great song that immediately caught my attention and made me want to hear the original. So, I tracked it down and found out it was an old-timey tune from the […]