The Mother Truckers playing Dynamite at Plush in Tucson, Arizona MOTHER TRUCKERS, Let’s All Go To Bed (Funzalo)Official Site | MySpace | Samples What’s not to love about Austin’s Mother Truckers? Find them somewhere comfortable nestled among the Drive-by Truckers, Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles and Southern Culture on the Skids. Its Texas-style countrified […]
Bo Diddley, 1928-2008
John Hiatt + More, Releases 5/27
John Hiatt on Austin City Limits. JOHN HIATT, Same Old Man (New West)Official Site | MySpace | Preview Our favorite ‘Master of Disaster’ proves he’s still the ‘Same Old Man’ with his aptly titled new album. Rumor has it that Hiatt was intended to be the surprise artist at New West Records’ SXSW day party […]
Listen Up: Nakia & His Southern Cousins
In a small room off the beaten path at this year’s SXSW I found a big voice. Austin singer-songwriter Nakia took possession of the room that night, his rich and brawny voice shifting effortlessly from a soulful ballad to a R&B rave-up. Ably backed by his top-notch band the Southern Cousins, it was a highlight […]
Wes Charlton – World on Fire
Every so often I encounter a new artist that really gets me fired up. Since I entered the blogosphere a little over a year ago, my opportunity to discover these upstart talents has been an unexpected benefit. Nashville’s Wes Charlton is one of those artists. All I can say is watch out. This kid is […]
Listen Up: Justin Townes Earle’s “The Good Life”
Justin Townes Earle’s The Good Life is really two albums intertwined. First you get some vintage honky-tonk and backwoods country; second you get some gorgeous/breathtaking acoustic ballads. Album opener “Hard Livin†is a prime example of the former, a fine honky-tonk rave-up that showcases the tremendous group of players in the band. Some mighty fine […]
800 CDs and Counting…
So you wanna be a rock and roll star? If only it were so simple. Songwriter and film-maker Chris Valenti learned the hard way. He recorded Emotional Wreck, his debut cd, manufactured 1,000 copies and, well, stacked 800 of ‘em in the corner of his apartment. What might have been a discouraging experience for some […]
Band of Heathens + More, Releases 5/20
Interview and performance footage of The Band of Heathens. BAND OF HEATHENS, self-titled (self)Official Site | MySpace | Stream | MP3* [audio:http://audio.sxsw.com/2008/mp3/The_Band_of_Heathens-Jackson_Station.mp3] A SXSW favorite for the past two years, Band of Heathens release their own brand of Lonestar State countrified rock and soul. Formed as a result of a regular shared billing at Austin’s […]
Mayer’s Playlist for March/April, A Video Companion
Here we go again, another video companion chock full of tasty nuggets. We’ll kick things off with songs from Steve Poltz and Missy Higgins, our featured artists for March & April. They we’ll dig into videos and live performances from Kathleen Edwards, Foy Vance, Against Me! and Shurman. We wrap things up this month with […]
Old 97s + More, Releases 5/13
The story behind the Old 97’s new album ‘Blame It On Gravity’. OLD 97’s, Blame It On Gravity (New West)Official Site | MySpace | Samples And then entered the contender. Dallas based band The Old 97’s are back in a big way. Teaming up with talented producer Salim Nourallah ‘Blame It On Gravity’ is the […]