American Aquarium is from Raleigh, NC. And yes, every review you read about them will compare them to Whiskeytown. But, to their credit, American Aquarium embraces the comparison on their second full length, The Bible and the Bottle. Skillet Gilmore (drums for Whiskeytown) does the artwork. Caitlin Cary (founding member Whiskeytown) contributes background vocals to […]
Josh Ritter – An Interview
Josh Ritter is on tour again, this time stopping in small towns and quirky venues all over this great nation (and a few in Canada, if I’m not mistaken). If you are lucky enough to be attending one of these shows, I envy you, but I also encourage you to take a pen and paper, […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Wailin’ Jennys: The Un-Bar Band
A few weeks back I went to see The Wailin’ Jennys. I went to it as kind of a throw-away show; I really like the venue and thought my wife would enjoy the Jennys. I came away really impressed and just can’t get the show out of my mind until I tell someone about it. […]
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 […]
Todd’s Review Roundup APRIL
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 […]