READERS PICK: APRIL 2011 Twangville readers picked Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit‘s Here We Rest as their favorite album of April 2011. His third album since parting ways with the Drive-by Truckers and second with band The 400 Unit. The album title, Here We Rest, takes it’s name from the original Alabama state motto […]
Mayer's Playlist for Mar/Apr 2011
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: A Day at the Pass, by Jill Sobule and John Doe What happens when you take two distinctive singer-songwriters and put them in the studio for a day with a group of talented musicians. Get your hands on a copy of this stellar release and you’ll have your answer. The collection […]
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit – Here we Rest
I almost didn’t make it past the first song. “Alabama Pines”. Usually that would have bad conotations, but in this case the song was absolutely mesmerizing. It is a song centered around the area of Alabama where I grew up. It is not the first Isbell penned song to have such an impact. “Dress Blues”, […]
SXSW 2011: The Scene, Part 1
For me, the true harbinger of spring is the arrival of the SXSW Music and Media Conference in Austin, Texas. Or rather, spring begins for me when I arrive in Austin for SXSW. With upwards of 2,000 bands and 13,000 attendees, SXSW is the world’s premiere music conference. Even better, it is one heck of […]
Mayer’s Playlist for February 2009, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, by Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit There’s something satisfying about watching a performer mature before your eyes. Though Jason Isbell has long been a Twangville favorite, his latest showcases his tremendous growth as a songwriter and performer. Exhibit A is “Soldiers Get Strange,” the […]