Glen Hansard died last week, and it’s hard to know where to start. He was one of the genuine ones — in his music and in how he moved through the world. That’s a rare thing, and it’s the thing we’ll miss most. I’ve written before about my favorite Hansard memory: an impromptu moment at […]
Monday Morning Video – William Matheny
William Matheny’s new album, Material Witness, was released earlier this month. It’s great songwriting with real rock and roll grit. The title track gets the live-in-studio treatment for this week’s video — just Matheny and his band, no overdubs to hide behind. Matheny played NYC last night, a show I appropriated as my birthday party. […]
The Mike Jacoby Electric Trio – Welcome to the Family
In this day and age of social media, where influencers constantly woo sponsors and opinions are carefully crafted to enrage, it seems the willingness to not take oneself too seriously is becoming a lost art form. Southern California’s Mike Jacoby is a light in that darkness. From an album cover shamelessly imitating Elvis and The […]
The Twangville 2026 Album Preview-Side B
Here are some albums that we’re looking forward to hearing in the back half of 2026… Material Witness by William Matheny (10 July) William Matheny brings pure rock and roll spirit to Material Witness, leaning heavy on electric guitars and hearty, driving rhythms. His lyrics crackle with authenticity and a wisened view, proving there’s still […]
The Hooters’ Eric Bazilian on Inflation and Street Gum Wisdom
Eric Bazilian, guitarist and singer-songwriter of The Hooters, recalls how the band’s early rehearsal space, a warehouse in a then-rough part of Philadelphia, became the birthplace of the band’s name and its first songs. He also reveals who between the band and crew gets the nicer tour bus when the Hooters are on the road.
Jesper Lindell on Record Deals and Lyrical Memory
Swedish singer-songwriter Jesper Lindell talks about the moment his tour van’s brake pads flew off just as they pulled into a venue, his years working as a mailman before music took over full-time, and why streaming alone doesn’t sustain artists outside the mainstream.
Mayer’s Picks – The Best of 2026 (So Far), the Songs
Don’t Let Go, Fantastic Cat (from the Missing Piece Records release Cat Out of Hell) A scream-along-at-the-top-of-your-lungs anthem about holding on to your dreams. Nothing you can buy can save what you soldSo hold on tight to the light in your soulDon’t look down, baby don’t let… Don’t let go Suffer, Boy Golden (from the […]
Mayer’s Picks – the Best of 2026 (So Far), the Albums
Cat Out of Hell by Fantastic Cat Fantastic Cat’s third album is another classic, nothing but pure pop perfection. Four songwriters with distinct styles blend here in a way that shouldn’t work as well as it does — sharp and spirited in both lyric and melody. And credit where it’s due: any album title that […]
William Matheny on Tinned Fish and Not Making Artistic Compromises
West Virginia singer-songwriter William Matheny talks about Isaac Asimov, destination dining, and why every US citizen should be drafted into two years of mandatory customer and food service upon turning the age of 18.
Monday Morning Video – Eric Ambel & Sophie Gault in NYC
On July 19th, Eric Ambel and Sophie Gault play Groove in the West Village, and they’re bringing their own kind of heat — the kind you actually want. Ambel’s been running electric current through a guitar for decades, across a solo and production career that’s still going. Gault generates her own voltage, and it runs […]