Ok, I’ve been in more of a “rock” mood recently so for some of you twangvillers, these albums may have too much kick. Well, maybe not…we’ll see.    Hints of BRMC, The Tender Idols and Primal Scream abound on Saturna’s new album Some Delicious Enemy. Lush guitars, delay and feedback mixed with pulsing drums make the Portland, Oregon band […]
The Middle Class – Deep in Debt
Some call it Old-Timey, New-Grass, Jam-Grass, Rootsy, Pre-WWII, Folk or hell, some label junkies may even dream up a title like Appalachian Dumpsta-Funk (not bad actually, can’t it be as useful as “Alt-Country”?) The fact is, in the last few years we have witnessed an Ellis Island-style rush of young, unique, and quality hard-to-define acts […]
The Daylight Hours- How To Make A Mess of Things
The Daylight Hours is Columbia, SC’s own David Adedokun. Adedokun has been slowly but surely working on How To Make A Mess Of Things for over two years, since the break-up of his former band, Courage Riley. It was worth the wait. Adedokun blends an array of influences into an Americana-indie-pop dream, all the while […]
The Atkinsons – American Gothic
When I pop in a disc from a band based in Virginia (West, or just the plain one) or North Carolina, I get excited and my mind fills with preconceived notions of good ol’ smokey mountain boogie, complete with Dueling Banjos and Foggy Mountain Breakdowns. Unfair? Sure. True? Not really, I don’t think that all […]
Old Settler’s Music Festival Highlights
I’m from northern California where “layering” your clothing is a mantra more than a conscious thought. Sure came in handy this year for Old Settler’s Music Festival in Driftwood (Austin), Texas, where there was driving rain, freezing cold (at least it felt that way), and warm, late-spring sunshine. Oh, and lots of good music, which […]
Swing Set- How To Make A Living Selling Yourself Short
Under Swing Set’s influences section on their webpage, Teenage Fanclub and George Jones are listed side by side. Just the kind of spirit that has driven the southern rock and roll movement of the last decade or so, a spirit that owes just as much to R.E.M. as Lynrd Skynrd. Swing Set is the solo […]
SXSW 2008: The Scene
I’m delirious from lack of sleep, I can barely stand due to the soreness burning through my legs, I’ve got a blister raging on my big toe and a small scratch has mysteriously appeared on my left hand. Ahh, it must be another Sunday morning at SXSW. Now, many of our colleagues in the media […]
Alejandro Escovedo and the E Street Band!
Oh, to have been in Houston last night… If you read my recent post on Alejandro Escovedo’s Sunday night performance at SXSW, you know what a fan I am of the man. If you followed my entire South-by “highlights reel,” you also know that the Replacements are my all-time favorite band. What I haven’t yet […]
Griffin House: Flying Upside Down
In this day and age, Singer-Songwriters are often compared to other similar artists from both past and present. For Nashville-based performer Griffin House (offical / myspace), the chief comparison seems to be Josh Ritter or Ryan Adams. Griffin’s latest offering, Flying Upside Down (April 29 – Nettwerk) opens with the track “Better Than Love†and […]
SXSW 2008 – John’s Sunday Night Highlight: Alejandro Escovedo
For all intents and purposes, SXSW turns into a pumpkin at 2 a.m. Saturday night, but true aficionados know that it ain’t really over until the legendary Alejandro Escovedo leaves the Continental Club stage after his unofficial closing night show on Sunday. We knew going in that this year’s set was going to be something […]