A couple of recent releases have provided great examples of records that were made by Texan artists in Music City. People often mistakenly – and lazily – equate any country music made in Nashville to the slick pop style that is featured on Top 40 Country radio. For those paying attention, these two albums should […]
Mayer’s Playlist for August 2009, part 2
Showerhead, Rachelle Van Zanten (from the RZV Records release Where Your Garden Grows) Canada’s Van Zanten sure can play a mean guitar. What really caught my ear, however, was the confidence and brawn in this track. Mix the rawness of a Lucinda Williams tune with the slide guitar chops of Bonnie Raitt and a touch […]
Porterdavis – Porterdavis
The new, self-titled disc from Austin’s Porterdavis is a Country-Blues gem. With stomping rhythms, a menacing harmonica weaving it’s way through the melodies, and the dark, smokey and soulful vocals of Dan Barrett, much of the disc seems to be rooted in the mud of Mississippi rather than dusty soil of Texas. If another band […]
The Deep Vibration – Veracruz
The Deep Vibration, out of Nashville, know how to leave a guy wanting more. Their EP, Veracruz (Dualtone), seems to tease the listener with only a total of 5 songs. All 5 songs are made up of high-quality, bluesy rock and it just doesnt seem like enough. Matt Campbell’s vocal performance is strong and the […]
Damon Fowler – Sugar Shack
A few months back, along with a couple of other CD’s I was reviewing, I received a copy of Damon Fowler’s Sugar Shack . I put it on at the time, it was OK, I didn’t think too much about it. I realized this weekend that I keep coming back to this disc. I know […]
Mayer’s Playlist for February 2009, Part 1
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: One Last Century, by The Damnwells “Somewhere between nothing and something is everything,” sings Alex Dezen about halfway through the band’s latest release. It seems an apt, if cryptic, explanation for his decision to make the album freely available on the internet. Freed from music industry obligations but still possessed by […]
Listen Up: The Low Anthem
It would be easy to describe the Low Anthem’s Oh My God, Charlie Darwin as ambitious. The term, however, doesn’t do it justice. It is one thing to be ambitious (right Axl Rose?) it is quite another to realize musical ambition and make it seem effortless. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Low Anthem. The mystical […]
The British Columbians
Ironically they actually are from British Columbia. So their name may lack a little originality. That is ok because it appears they put all of their originality and creativity into their music. The Blues have influenced Rock & Roll since, well actually forever. However, thanks to bands like White Stripes, Black Keys and Black Mountain […]
Southside Johnny, Hearts of Stone under a Grapefruit Moon
Some 30 years ago, when Springsteen released his seminal Darkness on the Edge of Town, John Lyon, better known as Southside Johnny did the same with his Hearts of Stone. Though the album didn’t sell all that well at the time years later Rolling Stone magazine would vote it as one of the best albums […]
Mayer’s Playlist for July 2008, Part 1
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Low on Cash, Rich in Love, by Eric Lindell Northern California musician Eric Lindell has found a spiritual home in New Orleans and it inhabits every corner of his latest release. Opener “Lay Back Down” eases you in with a breezy R&B feel before giving way to tracks like the bluesy […]