If there a lesson is to be learned from the career of Big Al Anderson, it's that good things can come to those who wait. In Big Al's case, however, it was necessary to wait...and wait...and wait...and wait...
At 49, Al Anderson is at the top of his game. Though still best known by many as the guitarist of the near-legendary, always-on-the-road N.R.B.Q. from 1971 until 1994, Al has proven wrong F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous assertion "There are no second acts in American lives."
Throughout the nineties - even before his departure from N.R.B.Q. - Al Anderson has made a name for himself as one of the most dependable and talented songwriters in country music today, penning hits and album tracks for the likes of Carlene Carter, The Mavericks, Hal Ketchum, Shenandoah, Jerry Lee Lewis and many, many others.
All this from a man who, by his own admission, only wrote about 40 songs in his years with N.R.B.Q.... »»»
If metal superstars Metallica had their way, believe it or not, opening shows for them would be Junior Brown.
Ditto for Tom Petty and those Texas long beards ZZ Top.
In the case of ZZ Top, Brown did open. For the others, it was only a wish because the man often considered the second coming of Ernest Tubb with some modern guitar swishes amidst Texas Swing, blues and surf sounds and an utterly unique type of guitar just couldn't fit in the gigs.
Now, this may all sound strange for a guy who's real country.
And you might even think Brown is joking since that is a characteristic often found in his songs and videos.
Brown has a ready explanation from a hotel in Birmingham, Ala., where he is to open in a few hours for ZZ Top. "Our audience is really widespread," he says. "We play from every age group and a lot of the different demographic groups - rock country, blues, bluegrass. A lot of the audiences like us."... »»»
Consider a world in which the Louvin Brothers hadn't existed. Try picturing the Everly Brothers without their having first been exposed to Ira and Charlie Louvin's seemingly effortless harmonies. Then try picturing the Beatles without having the Everlys serving as inspiration for their own harmonies.
Or try to imagine the career of Gram Parsons without having convinced The Byrds to try recording "The Christian Life," or if he hadn't had the Louvins to serve as a model for the close harmony singing that he and Emmylou Harris later perfected in the early seventies, including their own rendition of the Louvins' "Cash On the Barrelhead."
Charlie Louvin and his late brother Ira (who, with his wife Anne, was killed in a 1965 Missouri car wreck) changed the world of music - that much needs to be understood early on.
Whether directly or indirectly, almost everyone has been exposed... »»»
That may be a black cowboy hat sitting atop Gary Allan's head, but don't think of him as your latest hat act.
Far from it for a California native, more of a honky tonker than anything else. Unless you throw in his love for surfing.
"It's pretty much it," when asked if he doesn't care for today's crop of hat acts. "It's probably not the politically correct thing to say. I don't listen to much other stuff. I listen to the old stuff."
And that's pretty evident based on his debut disc, "Used Heart for Sale." Aside from his current single, the acoustic-tinged ballad "Her Man," moving up the charts, the disc wreaks of influences like Ernest Tubb, George Jones and Mark Chesnutt. David Ball is another singer who comes to mind.
That's clear from the lead-off "Send Back My Heart," co-written by George Ducas. The songs tend to have a lot of twang in them with a rockabilly feel underneath often thanks to piano and the sure-handed drumming of Owen Hale.... »»»
Robby Fulks is a shot of wry whiskey in the brew pub of country.
And so is Robbie Fulks, a slightly better known incarnation of the same person. Bloodshot, the label for which Fulks records, listed him as Robby on the two compilations introducing him to the world of what they call "insurgent country."
The label lists him as Robbie almost everywhere on his first album, "Country Love Songs."
Fulks claims to not really care, but the one place on his album where he's Robby is the cartoon he drew himself.
Even the title is a sign of Fulks' attitude. The love songs here are mostly of the dark and twisted classic country sort, where love is a gateway to Hell.
But Fulks, like Dwight Yoakam, can stretch the usually confining genre of "traditional country" far beyond its perceived boundaries without ever losing the focal point. "I tried to write an album that was just me, without any concessions," says Fulks, whose deadpan cynical humor made several appearances during an interview.... »»»
Wilco is one of two bands that rose out of the ashes of the late Uncle Tupelo, considered one of the fathers of the current alternative country scene. Wilco is lead by Jeff Tweedy while the other UT offshoot is Son Volt, headed by Jay Farrar.
Wilco released its debut, "A.M." in 1995 to critically positive reviews. The band is considered part of the alt country, even though Tweedy, who described himself as a rock and roller, did not particularly consider Wilco to be a country band.
Other band members include Jay Bennett on guitars and keyboards, Ken Coomer on drums, John Stirratt on bass and Max Johnston, who has since departed, on fiddle, mandolin and dobro. In addition to Tweedy, Stirratt, Johnston and Coomer all were members of Uncle Tupelo.
An advance of the the band's new CD, "Being There," included the following note from Wilco: "We started it with some vague goal of presenting ourselves as something different from what we were being credited for. Country Rock? You know, the next big thing. Give us a break. Hank Williams carried a cash box in his back pocket."... »»»
Deana Carter comes from a rich musical background. No, not that Carter Family.
Her father was legendary Nashville session man Fred Carter, Jr. That name may not be familiar, but it's a sure bet the man's music is. He's played with everybody from Buck Owens and Marty Robbins to Simon and Garfunkel.
"There was a thing way back then called the Nashville Sound," explains Deana (pronounced DEAN-AH as in Dean Martin, after whom she is named). "And my dad was an integral part in creating that sound. Kind of post-Chet Atkins and the old school guys. "
Surrounded by music and musicians, Carter always knew she wanted to follow in her father's formidible footsteps. She made her first attempt at snagging a record deal when she was 17 years old. Things didn't work out, and although she was disappointed at the time she's philosophical about it now.
"It didn't work because I wasn't ready. Plain and simple. Looking at it now from age 30 I can see I was nowhere near ready - especially for what... »»»
It is a strange combination: country music, steeped in tradition, and punk rock, whose point is to shatter traditions.
Punk stars celebrates their lack of musical skill, their amateur quality, their garage band roots.
Country musicians often like to show off their expertise and virtuosity. Critics have labelled bands "country punk" since the early 1980's, but few qualify as a true hybrid.
When Jason & The Scorchers ripped through a blazing version of "Lost Highway," or, more recently, when John Doe (formerly of the punk band X) recorded Merle Haggard's "I Just Can't Hold Myself In Line," they came closest, perhaps, to identifying the meeting place between punk and country: alienation and self-destruction are indeed common themes of both.
Angry Johnny and the Killbillies, a western Massachusetts band who recently released their first CD, Hankenstein on Tar Hut Records, also... »»»
"What matters to me are the songs," Iris Dement explained in quiet conviction, during an interview one October Saturday from her home in Gladstone, Kansas.
Iris Dement is entering her sixth year of recording, but she speaks with a gentle wisdom beyond experience. Her career has moved steadily upward, ever since John Prine first heard her songs and encouraged her to quit work at K-Mart and record "Infamous Angel" for Rounder Records. That record is a stunning debut, filled with faith in music and family and home, and a lyrical maturity that, as Dement sings on the opening song, "lets the mystery be. "
In 1994, she released "My Life," a 10-song spiritual autobiography, which gave the themes of her previous record short story-like details and astonishing, unprotected honesty.
With her new Warner Brothers Records release, "The Way I Should," Dement continues to declare her independence from catchy disposable country, the kind that rules radio and Nashville, engaging instead in political and satirical themes, and perky, acoustic swing, via Randy Scruggs production.... »»»
The second time may prove to the charm as well for Terri Clark.
Or she could fall into the dreaded sophomore slump and see her career go down the tubes as many artists have after a successful first album.
But the Canadian does not think that is in the cards with "Just the Same," her album released on Election Day.
"A few of the songs, we had before we had before we even cut the first album. We already had a little bit of a catalogue built up. Going into it, I felt the material was even stronger. We had 'Poor Poor Pitiful Me' (the first single). Once we did the basic tracks, we were very confident about that. The songs are the most important aspect. They are the canvas that you paint on."
Giving a seasonal reference, Clark says, "You got to have the tree before you decorate it. We were on a way that I think was definitely showing growth for me as an artist."
Clark says that none of the 11 songs appearing on the new release were leftovers from the debut. "We had done some demos of 'Just the Same,' 'Neon Flame,' 'Hold Your Horses.' All were recorded before the first album. We just decided to hang onto them."... »»»
For Marty Brown, "Here's To The Honky Tonks" isn't just the title of his latest album, it's a mantra. Brown believes the honky tonk is the lifeblood of country music.
And he emphasizes, "when I sing about honky tonks I'm not singing about line dancing places, I'm singing about cut and stab places, knives sticking in the bar places."
Brown isn't one who believes only happy songs should be on the radio. "They're treating the hurting songs like the crazy cousin you keep locked up in the basement. Everybody's had their heart broken."
Brown says the reaction he gets indicates there are plenty of people who want to hear songs about heartbreak. "My life is up and down like everybody else's. I've lived every song on this album. People all over the world get little pieces of my life. Other people are relating to my life.
He rues the current state of country radio with the observation that "you can have all the bubblegum you want, but every once in a while you need a big chocolate bar."... »»»
Most country fans know Columbia recording artist Wade Hayes from his number one hits, "Old Enough To Know Better," "I'm Still Dancin' With You," and his current hit, "What I Meant To Say," off his debut album "Old Enough To Know Better."
However, the deep-voiced 26-year-old's history runs much deeper than that.
Growing up in Bethel Acres, Okla. laid a strong foundation for Hayes' country roots.
Adding to the foundation was the fact that his father, Don Hayes, was a professional musician who performed in honky tonks in and around his home town.
Following in his father's footsteps, literally, Wade joined his father in the honky tonks as a guitarist and background vocalist at the ripe old age of 14. After graduating high school, Hayes attended three different Oklahoma colleges, but the attraction to music proved too strong.
According to Hayes, the turning point in his life came while watching Ricky Skaggs on the 1991 CMA Awards show telecast. "Out of the clear blue, he said, 'All of you young musicians that are struggling with your art, you need to go ahead and pursue it because that's what you're called to do.... »»»
BR5-49 bassist "Smilin'" Jay McDowell is perfectly aware of how some in Nashville would have liked to market the group.
"We were having a great time (before signing with Arista) and some people would approach us with business cards from a small label we'd never heard of," he says. "And the only ones that seemed to interest us as far as a label we'd heard of, the first thing they'd say was, 'Well, we'll get you guys a keyboard player and maybe update your clothes a little.' And we realized right away that wasn't the reason we were doing it. "
So why are they doing it?
Why are five guys in their 20's and 30's playing country music and dressing more like it's 1956 than 1996?
And why are they getting so much attention while doing it?
BR5-49 have been packin' 'em in as the house band at Robert's Western World in Nashville since 1994, playing four- and five -our sets three nights a week and building a large regional following in the process.
It's not an unusual situation for many bar bands; the difference being that BR5-49 have avoided the usual route of playing Garth Brooks and Little Texas covers.... »»»
Labeling music, like labeling groceries, seldom tells the whole story.
The label on a box of cereal can tell you what the contents are, but is woefully inadequate in terms of how it tastes.
Labeling the Boston area's Northern Lights a bluegrass band can probably give you an idea that it's a band with a banjo and a fiddle, but it falls short - way short - of describing the musical diversity and high-octane playing chops that emanate from this nationally-acclaimed group.
To be sure, Northern Lights are veterans of every major bluegrass and folk music festival from Boston to Las Vegas, but these are not guys that blow into jugs, smoke corn cob pipes or hold their pants up with a piece of rope instead of a belt.
Their music is thoroughly steeped in the bluegrass tradition, but as their new album, "Living In The City," on their new label, Red House Records, demonstrates, their sound includes sizable chunks of jazz, blues and gospel.... »»»
In 1978, Kris Kristofferson sang: "We measured the space between Waylon and Willie/And Waylon and Willie and me/But there wasn't nothing like Billy Joe Shaver/What Billy Joe Shaver should be."
Kristofferson was making a statement about the "outlaw" country movement and all the folks suddenly trying to include themselves in that movement.
There's but one true outlaw, Kristofferson seemed to say in "The Fighter," and his name is Billy Joe Shaver.
And while Willie and Waylon were selling millions of records, Shaver remained largely unknown, a situation that would not change until his 1993 release, "Tramp on Your Street."
And now Shaver has a new album, "Highway of Life," on the Justice label, fittingly the recent home of Nelson, Jennings and Kristofferson.
Shaver's connections with Waylon and Willie run deep.
Jennings's 1973 "Honky-Tonk Heroes" album, his masterpiece, is comprised entirely of songs by Shaver.... »»»
From Austin, Texas, the great musical city that spawned such critically acclaimed artis as Monte Warden's Wagoneers and Kelly Willis, comes a new group with a sound all its own, at least among modern country bands.
The Derailers do things its own way, expressing love for traditional country music everywhere from California to Norway.
Lead singer Tony Villanueva has just returned for an interview from his record label, Watermelon Records, where he's been ironing out some last-minute details on the late February album release. He sounds excited, and he has good reason to be.
Although still early in the year, it's a good bet that The Derailers' "Jackpot" will make many critics' top-10 lists for 1996.
Villanueva says, "We've arrived firmly with the old Texas-California honky-tonk sound."
In fact, the disc's 12 songs establish The Derailers as the direct descendants of the great Fifties and Sixties honky-tonk bands, especially Buck Owens & the Buckaroos. This is the kind of album that makes the listener yearn for the old days of country radio when everything was as honest and real as The Derailers sound now.... »»»
Andy Thompson, lead guitarist and vocalist with the Thompson Brothers Band, laughs when asked where they got the name "Cows on Main Street" for their first CD.
"People ask us where we're from," he says, "and when we tell them we're from Massachusetts, they think it's all big cities up there. But Norwell, where we're from, (halfway between Boston and Plymouth) is a pretty small town; there's only about a hundred kids in every graduating class. We really did have cows on Main Street. It used to make us late for school sometimes. "
There's certainly nothing standing in the way of the Thompson Brothers now. Andy and brother Matt ("vocals, drums, percussion and all unnecessary noise") along with childhood friend and honorary Thompson Mike Whitty ("vocals and largemouth bass") are on the road touring in support of "Cows on Main Street," which is not a full length CD, but a six-song EP.
"Well, actually that was RCA's decision more than anything," Andy Thompson explains. "There's a lot... »»»
Gillian Welch is one of the most heralded new singers and writers in what is often awkwardly labeled "alternative" or "insurgent" country. While such a moniker suggests an arch, modern, or grungy approach to country, Welch's music is crystalline and bittersweet, acoustic and twangy.
Welch was born in 1968 and raised in West Los Angeles. Welch first discovered bluegrass and country, Monroe and the Delmore Brothers, in college. That love has translated into a beautiful and sincere first record that never loses the acoustic, but edgy sound of her influences.
Produced by T-Bone Burnett, "Revival" consistently recovers the spirit of vintage, weathered country traditions left in the dust by today's over-polished country stars. Labor and barroom ballads, moonshine stomps, and wise, unadorned gospel -Welch has a silky but brooding voice appropriate for her far-ranging originals. The album has received many accolades.... »»»
If looking for "The Reasons Why" today's country music industry is in down cycle, look no further than the story of Michelle Wright's album of that name.What was to have been her third U.S. album was never released in this country despite being another huge success in her native Canada.As "For Me It's You," her fourth - oops, make that third - U.S. album, is finally released, Wright still has to deal with the same record company and radio programmers who put her American career on a two-year detour.
When discussing the situation, she sounds like a woman in pain from biting her tongue so hard.But let's start at the beginning, which for Michelle Wright was a farm in Ontario. Her mother was a professional country singer.
Wright also listened to Detroit's Top 40 stations. "I loved Motown and Soul Train," Wright says.
She says she always knew she would combine her love of R & B with... »»»
Songwriters come to Nashville from all over America, lured by the dream of writing that one big hit, a song that will be recorded by a multi-platinum artist and reach number one on the singles chart.
They all know the story of Don Von Tress, unknown until Billy Ray Cyrus recorded "Achy Breaky Heart."
But for every one like him, dozens more are barely getting by on their publishing companies' stipends or, worse, still waiting to be signed to a publishing company.
Many of them would kill to be in the position of Gretchen Peters.
She's written a slew of hits, including George Strait's "Chill of an Early Fall," Pam Tillis' "Let That Pony Run," Patty Loveless' "You Don't Even Know Who I Am" and Martina McBride's "My Baby Loves Me" and "Independence Day," the current Country Music Association Song of the Year.
Ironically, though, she never sets out to write a hit.... »»»
The hats still are nowhere to be found this time around, but that suits Marty Stuart just fine.
This time, the Marty Party man is back, seeking Double Trouble. At least, that's the name of his current year-long tour with cohort Travis Tritt.
Four years ago, Tritt and Stuart went out on their very successful No Hats tour, eschewing the trademark tattoo of this decade's Hot Young Country musicians. Stuart and Tritt scored big time with "The Whiskey Ain't Workin' Anymore," going to the top of the charts.
The following year, Stuart released "This One's Gonna Hurt You," with the title track being the second duet between the two buddies, someone Stuart refers to as "my brother."
Due to a series of other commitments, the two were unable to get it together again until this year, though the plan always had been to record and tour together again.
Their first collaboration this year is the title track of Stuart's new disc, "Honky Tonkin's What I Do Best." A second will be "Double Trouble," out in late August on Tritt's forthcoming CD, "The Restless Kind."... »»»
It turns out that Dale Watson got his "Nashville Rash" from close contact.
It's been pretty much a deep dark secret, but Dale Watson was once a member of the artist roster of Curb Records.
Watson's brief stint on Curb was unsuccessful enough to be easily kept secret, but he did actually have two singles released. Released to radio, at least, which, then as now, had little interest in Watson's honky-tonk vocals.
Curb originally started as a production company, signing artists like The Judds, Lyle Lovett, and Sawyer Brown and then leasing them to major labels. By 1990, they decided to eliminate the middle man and start their own label. With their established stars contractually obligated elsewhere, they had to build a roster from scratch.
John Jorgenson of Desert Rose Band, another Curb act, brought Watson to the label and produced his two singles.
"It took (Curb) a while to learn how to do it," Watson says. "They started out just throwing things against the wall to see what... »»»
Son Volt, Wilco, the Old 97's and BR5-49 are not exactly the mainstream type of country music infiltrating today's radio waves.
Except for the very adventuresome country station or college radio, in fact, these bands receive little airplay. In the case of Son Volt and Wilco, rock stations played their albums.
The sound these bands play has been labelled alt (as in alternative) or insurgent country, grange rock and No Depression after an album by the seminal alt-country band Uncle Tupelo.
For the most part, the styles of the bands include both a twangy, rootsy type of sound to one with more of a rock edge. The sound also is a throwback to a bygone era with bands such as BR5-49 playing music from the 1940's along with originals.
At times, the sound is really traditional with lots of pedal steel and winsome vocals. The only alternative part of it may be alternative to is what is played on commercial radio nowadays.
Influences may include everyone from Hank Williams to Gram Parsons.
In any case, don't expect to find any hats atop these heads or dance routines worked out to go with the song.... »»»
In looking for the quintessential country artist, fans of traditional country need to look no farther than Don Walser.
The Watermelon Records artist, who just released his second album of new music, "Texas Top Hand," hits all styles from honky tonk on the Faron Young song "Wind Me Up" to western swing onBob Wills' "Whose Heart Are You Breaking Now" to cowboy music on the Sons of the Pioneers' "Tumbling Tumbleweeds."
Walser says, "I like to record some of those obscure songs.... Some of those great old songs deserve to come back."
Looking at the covers of his CD booklets, it's hard to believe that this man is part of the future of traditional country music. He's not a twenty-something pretty boy who jumped on the country bandwagon when the music started getting popular.
In fact, he's about as far from the typical country star as possible. He's in his sixties to start with, and he's not exactly a hunk. He's slow to speak in his Texas drawl and quick to laugh, and he seems just... »»»
Timing is everything. If you don't believe that old saying is true, ask Jo Dee Messina.
At Fan Fair a few years ago, the scarlet-tressed singer introduced herself to a Curb Records executive and told him "What you guys really need over there is a redhead."
"Some people think it took a lot of courage to walk up and say something like that to a very powerful man," Messina said in a recent telephone interview, "but it was more like nerves. When I'm around powerful people, I tend to talk too much and joke around a lot."
"And this was my one chance to get to the guy," Messina said. "I couldn't talk to him in the office, but here he was out in the open."
Before the startled exec could respond ("Probably to call security and ask 'Who is this crazy woman?'" Messina said, laughing), famed Nashville producer James Stroud walked up and began raving about a bright new talent whose demo he had been listening to.
The singer he was so excited about just happened to be Jo Dee Messina, and the result of her luck and chutzpah was a Curb record contract and a hit single "Heads Carolina, Tails California" off her eponymous debut CD.... »»»
They may be The Mavericks by name and even by musical action, but when it comes to winning Grammy and other musical awards, The Mavericks are mainstream.
Even call it old hat for a band that is anything but a hat act.
The awards - for best vocal group from the Academy of Country Music and a Grammy in the past few months - suits lead guitarist Nick Kane just fine.
"Oh man, not at all,' Kane said when asked if grabbing the trophies was becoming no big deal.
"The awards mean a lot to me, personally, " Kane said. "I grew up dreaming about the Grammies. I never once thought I'd ever actually have one. That's an amazing thing, being accepted by the world-wide music community."
But this is no time for lead singer Raul Malo, bassist Rob Reynolds, drummer Paul Deakin and Kane to celebrate forever. "It's a funny thing," Kane said. "It's kind of like the fame without fortune syndrome. We still got to work hard to succeed."
And Kane, 41, the newest member of the quartet, quickly pointed to a goal. "This band has never had a top 10 single in country radio yet," he said. "That's something to struggle for."... »»»
Trisha Yearwood's first single went straight to Number One. So did Faith Hill's. Terri Clark's debut missed by the top by just one small rung.
And Bobbie Cryner? Her first single missed Number One by a country radio mile.
In fact, none of the singles from Cryner's critically acclaimed first album became any sort of hit. That self-titled 1993 effort turned out to be her only one for Epic. Becoming a free agent, she signed with MCA and has now released the aptly titled album "Girl of Your Dreams."
This would seem to be the right place for her. MCA, more than any other label in Nashville, has shown the patience to work with talented acts who don't fit within the narrow demands of today's country radio (e.g., The Mavericks).
Although Cryner still is not setting the radio waves ablaze, her latest single "You'd Think He'd Know Me Better" is getting a decent response and may yet establish her.... »»»
He may be thought of as just a regular Joe, but that is not exactly the case this time around for Joe Diffie.
In reality, his latest disc, "Life's So Funny," represents a departure from previous efforts. The man known for the comedic touch in song has eschewed that to some extent anyway for a more serious approach.
And that suits the Oklahoma native just fine. "No risk," he said. "No reward."
"I tried to stretch and do different things, and I might gain a little bit of a different audience," he said. "I just hate to do the exact same thing. I think it hopefully translates into longevity, into being a little bit different with each album. Just veering off the beaten path. It was definitely a conscious decision."
For the uninitiated, Diffie, 37, has a long history of serving up humorous ditties. That was true from the start. On his 1990 debut, Diffie scored with "If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)."... »»»
Very few people who write and perform popular music for a living can claim the sort of consistent quality for their work that Son Volt's Jay Farrar can.
Having begun his professional musical career in the St. Louis area (by way of nearby Belleville, Ill., where he and Son Volt drummer Mike Heidorn both grew up) at the beginning of the decade with the trio Uncle Tupelo (which originally included Heidorn and bassist Jeff Tweedy), Farrar set out to meld the folk and country music played in his parents' home with the dynamics of punk rock.
The result was a style which bound together tight, angular rhythms with acoustic guitars, banjos and steels, all of which called attention to the emotional spaces which both parent forms held in common: a lyrical tradition of both protest and self-reflection derived from lives lived at the margins of power and privilege.Uncle Tupelo lasted slightly over five years, after which the group splintered; the principles have been reluctant to discuss details.... »»»
Keith Stegall's on top of the world. As an honest to goodness "jack-of-all-trades," Stegall currently works at Mercury Nashville as the vice president of A&R, bringing new acts to the label like Terri Clark and Kim Richey; he's an accomplished songwriter; he produces such acts as Alan Jackson and Sammy Kershaw and he's a proud father of three.
In an effort to further his musical prevalence, he's also affixed the title, Artist, to that list by recording his own album, "Passages."
The road to Nashville for this Texas-native started at the age of four when he began playing the piano. With his father, Bob, as a steel guitar player for country legend Johnny Horton, Stegall attended country concerts at The Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport before he was even in school. At eight, he made his stage debut at a local hoe-down in Tyler, Texas.
Four years later he took up guitar and joined a... »»»
Warm. Unpretentious. Enjoyable. Tasty bordering on delicious. Made up of many different things that you like. All these terms describe the classic American dish known as the western omelet.
They also describe the Boston-area group of the same name. Western Omelet is a group of New England musicians brought together by their mutual love of traditional American music.Like their namesake dish, their music is an eclectic blend of ingredients that you wouldn't ordinarily think go together. Their self-released debut album, "Now's the Time," is a blend of bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz and western swing music.
Since the disc's release six months ago, it has received regular air play on college and public radio airwaves and become the daily special on the menus of Boston College's radio station and the popular "Hillbilly at Harvard" Saturday radio program.
Within the two short years since the group was formed, Western Omelet has become regulars of the New England's burgeoning coffeehouse and folk music circuit.... »»»
What happens when you throw together five veteran musicians who played music ranging from punk to R & B to hard rock in bands with names like Human Sexual Response, The Lyres, The Zulus, the Savages, and Concussion Ensemble?
Well, they form a country/rockabilly band in Massachusetts, of course, and call themselves the Country Bumpkins.
The Bumpkins just independently released their first self-titled CD that they hope will lead to bigger and better things.
The band started around nine years ago when Lynne Lenker and her brother Allan Sheinfeld sat down at her kitchen table one day and started plotting out songs, working out the vocal parts to Sheinfeld's guitar.
Then they put together the rest of the band: Rich Gilbert on steel, Chris MacLachlin on stand-up bass, and Judd Williams on drums. But they may not be known by those names onstage where Lenker becomes Mimsy Farmer, Sheinfeld turns into Roy Sludge and Gilbert transforms into Peckerhead Gilbert.... »»»
Once upon a time, people got tired of hearing Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd all day, so they created something called "alternative rock."
And then the alternative became so popular that people needed an alternative to the alternative.
Nowhere was this truer than in Seattle, which did more than any other city to make the "alternative" mainstream.
So it's only fitting that Seattle should be home to The Picketts, a band providing a refreshing alternative to not only mainstream rock, but also to mainstream country.
It's hard to find an easy description for The Picketts. Even vocalist Christy McWilson - not usually at a loss for words - is forced into a moment of silence when asked to do so. Finally she says that some people in Seattle call the band "Grange Rock."
This pithy description, created as simply a play on Seattle's more famous "Grunge Rock," is as apt as any.
Of course, there are disadvantages to being the alternative to everything.
The biggest is that it's difficult to get people to hear your music.... »»»
When most greenhorn artists release their debut, the general response from the public probably is something like "Who's that?"
But Stephanie Bentley has a leg up on the competition. Her name already has been out in the public for a chunk of 1995, especially in the fall. She has Ty Herndon to "blame" for that. The two, of course, recorded the duet "Heart Half Empty," now moving up the charts.
While Herndon already made a name for himself with two previous hits from his debut, Bentley had yet to even release her first album.
But that all changed Jan. 9 when "Hopechest" hit record stores.
"I'm in disbelief," said Bentley, speaking just before the release date from her Antioch, Tenn. apartment. "I can't believe it's finally happening...Yeah, it's wonderful."
Forgive Bentley if she was excited. This was her third go-round with a record company, but the first time she had anything released.
Bentley, a 32-year-old Georgian, combines a strong, at times soaring voice roughly echoing Patty Loveless with a tenderness perhaps associated with Nanci Griffith thrown into the mix of songs, almost all about the hazards of love.... »»»
This wheel - Asleep At the Wheel - does indeed keep on rollin'.
In this day and age, it is quite remarkable for any musical act to last 25 years. Adding the fact that the band has had practically no help from radio makes its survival astounding.
Then consider that this act has won a string of Grammys, CMA awards and widespread critical acclaim, and its feats seem nearly miraculous.
But after 19 albums, 25 singles and three tour buses, Asleep At The Wheel not only survives, but thrives and celebrates its 25th anniversary.
"Even though radio won't play us, the Wheel keeps on rollin',"said Ray Benson, who, in effect, is Asleep At the Wheel, in a recent interview from its home base in Texas. Benson, who stands a towering six-and-a-half feet, is the primary vocalist and lead guitarist.
Asleep At the Wheel recently released "The Wheel Keeps Rollin'."... »»»
