Giant Bear just released there self-titled album on August 14th and it will rank up there with Elliot Randall as one my surprise favorites of the year. They are an Americana outfit with Indie Rock sensibilities. Based in Memphis the Commercial Appeal says they are “somewhere between cowboy noir and the best band to ever […]

Kieran Kane, Kevin Welch, Fats Kaplin will be releasing a new album on September 11, the album is self titled Kane Welch Kaplin. Not exactly a creative title but after the first listen it is obvious they spent their time making the album not naming it. Their previous album Lost John Dean went number one […]

Whenever someone puts together a compilation CD choosing the songs can be difficult. When the compilation is of something like Americana Music, the very definition of which is elusive at best, the job is near impossible. If anyone could do it Putumayo, who has developed an entire international catalog of impossible compilations over the years, […]

Elliot Randall is gaining notoriety on the West Coast and is becoming a popular act in the San Francisco Bay area. He is also getting love from the California press. Recently, he was featured on legendary Bay area radio station KFOG’s local scene and is going to be appearing at the station’s local scene kickoff […]

By now we know what to expect from The Gourds. Noble Creatures fortunately delivers The Gourds full package, quirky hook laden roots music that mixes tradition with foot stompin’ contemporary jams. Of course this is all delivered with the requisite humor. After all, this is the band that managed to fuse Compton and Appalachia when […]

The Basement generated a lot of hype among the UK press before they released their first album. Early singles hinted at something special and they generated quite a following among fans. For some reason the buzz has been a little slower to build in the US, but they have released their first US CD on […]

It has been almost five years since Kim Richey released a new album. Clocking in at 33 minutes, Chinese Boxes is worth the wait. The short length of the album is appropriate for the conceptual simplicity of the lyrics. The imagery Richey uses in her lyrics allow her to provide the listener a conceptual framework […]

When Tom, the Mayor of this rocking metropolis we call Twangville, gave me The Wells Outcasts Will Make a Strong Nation cd, he told me I would like it because it reminded him of X and John Doe and he knows what a big fan I am. He was absolutely right. The harder songs especially […]

Spontaneity is often the key to success. Plan a big party and it will usually disappoint. The best parties start with a few guys buying a keg and calling their friends at the last minute. The same is true for the Traveling Wilburys, formed by accident by George Harrison who needed to cut a B-side […]

Forty years ago in 1967, on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club album, Paul McCartney asked this question, “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m 64?” Paul McCartney is now 64. Actually, he turned 65 yesterday (6-18-2007). So I would like to answer this for him. Yes, we need anyone […]