Holy. Crap. Talk about getting one in right under the wire. No matter. We’re here. It’s still July and the podcast is live, so let’s talk about it.
This month’s podcast is divided into two halves. The first half is all about new music. In that section we have a song from the upcoming Lucero CD, 1372 Overton Park, as well as a phenomenal cover of Lucero’s “Better Than This” by ninebullets.net faves, The Fox Hunt. Incidentally, the new Lucero album is currently up for preorder. If you do preorder it, not only will you get the physical CD a few weeks prior to the “official” release date, you’ll also immediately get to download a six-song preview of the album (from whence the song on this podcast came). While we’re on the preorder tip, there’s also a song on the podcast from the new Chris Knight album, Trailer Tapes II. Like the new Lucero, Chris’ album is up for preorder, but if you preorder it now you’ll get to download a digital copy of the whole album immediately.
The second half of the podcast features bands from this year’s Deep Blues Festival, which I plan on posting a complete recap of next week. I featured American Relay in this segment who, unfortunately, played their last show ever at the fest. I believe they have a new album coming out, but there will be no tour to support it. Also featured is Davina and The Vagabonds. I had high hopes for this band and they lived up to every one. Matter of fact, during their set I tweeted the following: “Davina and the Vagabonds. Music you should fuck to“. I also decided to include Woodsbossman, Tom VandenAvond. He looks like he could be Scott H. Biram’s little brother and he writes some fine, fine music.
I closed this month’s Podcast with a track from Gainesville’s The Takers. Their new album has finally been released and you can get it at all your favorite digital outlets, plus you can read about the album here.
And that does it. Another month comes to pass. I am pretty happy with this month’s podcast and I think y’all will like it. Do me a favor, though. If you listen and you enjoy the show, please tell other people about it. The website’s stats have been increasing this month, but the podcast’s stats have been in decline. I am gonna try to do more advertising of the show this month, but nothing beats word of mouth.
Thanks, everyone. ~Autopsy IV (twitter: @autopsy4)
Anyone who pays any attention to music in Florida has heard about The Takers at some point in the past year, and since Suburban Home picked them up, the hype machine has been doing nothing but gaining momentum. By the time Virgil reached out to me with a copy of the band’s debut album, Taker Easy, I was already wondering if they’d be able to match the advance billing. Now, after spending some two months with the CD and managing to catch them live at the Citrus Circuit Tour, I can readily proclaim that yes, The Takers are worthy of the hype. Now hopefully with the CD finally coming out the rest of the country will get behind this little Florida band.
The Takers are a ragtag collection of bike mechanics, cooks, restaurant managers, cashiers and recycled ink salesmen out of Tim Tebow-land (Gainesville). They came together almost by accident when Devon Vlasin (singer) found himself in need of a backing band to open for an upcoming Willie Heath Neal show. A few phone calls and free beer bribes netted a temporary ensemble that decided to keep at it beyond the one-night gig. After some member revisions and additions, the band finally settled in with singer Devon Vlasin joined by Chad Smith and Ronnie Holmes on electric guitars, Jerome Goodman on bass, Mike Collins on pedal steel and drummer Jon Reinertsen. Read the rest of this entry »
Normally, I don’t do video posts. But sometimes I see one that is just so sweet I have to share it with y’all. Such is the new video for Buck 65’s song “The Rebel” off his latest effort, Situation. It was done by animator Benjamin Logsdon and you need to make sure you watch it in HD.
As I said with my last post about Nerdapalooza, I wasn’t really familiar with the whole genre (or its fan base) until mere weeks before attending the festival, but I had a short list of people I wanted to see as Trevor and I shoved off from St. Petersburg last Saturday morning.
Now, I’m typing this a little under 24 hours after getting home from the festival. Showered, rested, and fed, I’m still not sure how I want to cover it. There were plenty of disappointments, such as Kabuto The Python (the #1 thing I wanted to see) not thinking to try the rapping with a mask thing out before stepping out onto a stage, which resulted in Kabuto the Mime. There was The Protomen’s set so mired in feedback that you would have thought they brought it along as a special guest. Then there was the most frustrating part of all, the festival’s complete and utter inability to stay anywhere close to the schedule (more on that later).
But this isn’t meant to be a diatribe from some outsider coming in to point at the nerds and talk about how shitty their convention was. And as I drove home, I reflected on some of the cool shit we saw. The first band we caught, Captain Dan & the Scurvy Crew, were quite entertaining both sonically and visually as they took the stage in complete pirate garb. Kabuto aside, the rest of the Scrub Club showcase was phenomenal. As a “crew” they seem to embrace a “hiphop first, nerd second” approach to their music and stage show that really appealed to me.
Then there was the out of left field “holy shit I am gonna talk about that for months” set by Schaffer The Darklord. I’d listened to his material on Myspace in preparation for the festival and was lukewarm to it at best. However, live … live is where it was at. Those lazy beats and rhyme delivery were pushed aside for an uptempo, high energy tight stage show that captivated the entire room. Watching him on stage I kept thinking, this dude is like nerdcore’s version of Col. J.D. Wilkes (for those who don’t know, read about JD here). I don’t think there is any doubt that Schaffer stole the entire festival with his shortened performance. Read the rest of this entry »
Seriously, I am not gonna fuck this post up with lots of words that cloud the point and I don’t want any stupid jump cut put in to increase clicks So, here it is. Cut and Dry.
All photos by Tracy May; to check out the complete gallery, click here.
The last time I was at The Ritz was for the fateful Corrosion of Conformity show where (4) people were stabbed with (1) ultimately dying. I’d heard a lot about the near million dollar renovation the venue had gone through prior to reopening a year (really? it’s been a whole year?) ago but I had not seen it yet. What better chance than for their free, one year anniversary show featuring one of my favorite songwriters, Grayson Capps (pictured with hair swinging at right)?
The venue itself is beautiful and the acoustics are dramatically improved. Granted, I am judging the latter on one show but Grayson and the Stumpknockers were loud and they sounded great and the re-configured ballroom is infinitely more conducive to live music than it used to be. While this isn’t supposed to be a review of the venue I wanted to mention it ’cause they did a fantastic job and I look forward to seeing more shows there. Read the rest of this entry »
You know what they say, “when it rains, it pours,” and such is the case this week with three shows in four days. While I don’t expect anyone else to adhere to such a rigorous schedule, I do think you can find something you like in one (or more) of these shows. If you do make it out to any, find me and we’ll tell fish tales over a beer.
I am so excited about this show. Honestly, I just assumed Grayson Capps would never come to Florida. BUT! Here he is and he’s bringing his full band, The Stumppknockers, with him. If the sound of Southern soul mixed with back-country stomp with a little road-house blues sounds like something that might tickle your fancy, you need to get to The Ritz on Thursday night for this show.
When I last wrote about Grayson I said, “I find myself drawn to the drunks, whores and vagabonds that haunt Grayson’s songs. They’re like old friends you keep up with via letters in the mail, and with a new album comes new updates.” It’ll be nice to finally meet this motley crew of characters in person.
Perhaps I was just young, but there seemingly was a time when Tori Amos felt edgy and just a little brash. Over the years, though, she has mellowed considerably and I’ve filed her in the “artists I used to like whose new albums I check out out of politeness only but I doubt I’ll ever actually like anything they ever do again” folder.
Enter KRISTEENYOUNG.
I think the opening paragraph of their bio tells you everything you need to know about this band:
“What’s black and white and can crush you like a bug? A piano. These monsters weigh anywhere from 300 lbs for a small upright, to four or even five times that for a concert grand. So why do artists let them sound so wimpy? KRISTEENYOUNG wants the piano to kick your ass. Their new album, Music for Strippers, Hookers, and the Odd On-Looker, feels like it was born in the boxing ring, not some sun-dappled Laurel Canyon living room.”
In the hours after penning my little fuck you to the Tampa/St. Pete music fan base, I got to thinking. There’s a line in the Outkast song, “Git Up, Git Out,” that says; “You need to git up, git out and git somethin’ / Cuz you and I got to do for you and I.” I thought, instead of bitching about how lazy Bay Area music fans have become, instead of railing against the DJ culture of Tampa, instead of being a whiny bitch about it, why not try and help the people who are trying to change things in the area. And we’re going, too. Just as soon as we finishthisother thing … None of this has anything to do with the Thx Mgmt show Friday night at New World Brewery except that the two subjects are in the same spirit…
So, on with the show.
Following my rant, Shawn Beauville from the Beauvilles emailed me to inform me about a little tour his band was taking part in. The idea was to get a collection of bands together who can pull within their own markets and put them all on the road together with the “home band” headlining their respective market. In this case, the bands are: The Beauvilles (Tampa), Thomas Wynn & The Believers (Orlando) and Shawn Fisher and the Jukebox Gypsies (Jacksonville). Joining them on the Tampa date is The Junkyard Kings. Not only is the spirit of this show something I can get behind, but the lineup has something for everyone who likes their music played live and loud and right in front of them. Seems Thx Mgmt might be coming to the same conclusions as I am cause right on the tails of this show comes The Citrus Circuit Tour featuring a whole other slew of Florida bands. But more on that later this month.
Anyhow. Come on Tampa. Come on St. Pete. Get out to New World on Friday night and celebrate/support your local musicians. ‘Til then, here’s a sampling of what you’ll hear: Read the rest of this entry »
Those are this year’s list of hurricane names. There are six lists that rotate and they do not change unless there is a hurricane that is so devastating that the name is retired, then another name replaces it. Today is the official beginning of the 2009 Hurricane Season. Unless you live on the East or Gulf Coast, Hurricane Season probably doesn’t mean shit to you until we’re knee deep in shit and CNN is into full sprint with their 24 hour coverage. Read the rest of this entry »
While there has been no “official” confirmation from the band, I thought the dead website & canceled dates were pretty telling so I asked a couple of local promoters. I’ve heard it from enough people now that I feel pretty comfortable saying it’s true, the Summerbirds in the Cellar have broken up.
No big blowout or anything. Just decided that this particular project was done.
The local music scene will be worse without SITC, best of luck to them in their future endeavors.
Drive-By Trucker Patterson Hood sent out a recent e-mail that contained lots of interesting information I thought I’d pass along:
Patterson’s second solo album, Murdering Oscar (and other love songs), is available for pre-order. One of the pre-order packages includes an autographed, 180-gram vinyl album, a digital download, and a signed and numbered giclée of the album artwork (by Wes Freed).
Summer dates are scarce but Patterson hopes to take his merry band of Screwtopians (David Barbe, Will Johnson, Scott Danbom, John Neff and Brad Morgan) on a coast-to-coast tour sometime later this year. (PATTERSON! YOU GUYS REMEMBER WHERE FLORIDA IS?????)Read the rest of this entry »
Bob Log came. Bob Log saw. Bob Log asked us to shit down his leg.
To say that Bob Log kicked ass this past Sunday, May 24, is an illustration of words not doing a show justice.
To say you missed a fantastic show is less a declaration and more of me pointing and laughing at you, the lazy masses of the Tampa/St. Pete music scene.
So yeah, Bob Log came and, in typical fashion, Tampa/St. Pete didn’t.
You Suck.
Bob Log fucking ruled.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’m gonna let James’ photos do the rest of the talking since all I wanna talk about is how shitty the Bay area’s music scene is and how sick I am of making excuses for it … It rained. Gasparilla is 278 days away, etc. etc. etc. But before I go, lemme ask you, Tampa, lemme ask you St. Pete: Why is it Orlando’s music scene can be so damned good and ours so freaking shitty? Read the rest of this entry »
I saw Boots last year while he was out on the road with Galactic and he totally stole the show. The idea of him collaborating with Tom Morello has me extremely excited. Unfortunately, the three tracks of theirs that my buddy supplied me with last night have done little more than disappoint.
None the less, last Sunday, Boots and Trent Reznor shared the stage and mic duties on a cover of MC5’s “Kick Out the Jams” and I think it turned out pretty awesome.
(VIDEO AFTER THE CUT THAT I’VE PLACED HERE TO INCREASE THE “CLICK COUNT” ON THIS POST)
BOB LOG III PLAYS THE GARAGE IN DOWNTOWN ST. PETERSBURG ON SUNDAY, MAY 24.
A lot of people don’t know who Bob Log III is. Those that have seen him will never forget him.
My first Bob Log III experience came at the Deep Blues Festival ‘08. He played with Possessed By Paul James and Scott H. Biram at a few night shows, so I managed to catch him a few times outside the festival and once actually at the festival. The first time I saw him, I was convinced it was Scott H. Biram in disguise, but then I walked up to the bar for a drink and Biram was sitting there. Suddenly I wondered, Who the fuck was this man on the stage in a full-faced helmet and full-body cannonball man suit? As the show wore on, he had women sitting on his lap, women with their tits in his drinks and by the end of the weekend, he had a devoted fan in myself.
(MORE OF THE BOB LOG-APALOOZA AND MP3s AFTER THE JUMP)
@autopsy4:Made it to Ybor. Have I mentioned how much I hate driving to Tampa?
I arrived to Ybor late and famished due to the traffic jam the rest of the world refers to as Tampa. After getting my access secured and a whiskey inside of me I started to settle down and headed to the Cantina for some of the Southern rock sounds of Mojo Gurus. I only managed to catch their last 3 songs but that was all I needed. The blistering rock mixed with the whiskey were getting me where I need it to be and all I needed at this point was a hot dog and I was gonna be fixed.
@autopsy4: Mojo Gurus crushed. Thomas Wynn next.
On my way out of the Cantina I bumped into some old friends and decided a double whiskey and catching up was gonna have to suffice as food. While the double put a beating on my wallet, it was exactly what the head was wanting and I was exactly where I needed to be as Thomas Wynn & The Believers took the stage. Read the rest of this entry »
NOTE: I originally posted this on ninebullets.net last month. Eilen will be on the Cuban Club Cantina stage at Tropical Heatwave tomorrow. Her set time is 7:45 to 8:45. She gets the ninebullets.net seal of approval.
When I started ninebullets.net I really didn’t listen to too many woman singers. It wasn’t a conscious decision, really, just how it played out. Eilen Jewell was one of the singers who helped break that habit with her 2008 effort, Letters From Sinners And Strangers.
When I read on songs:illinois that she was changing her sound on Sea Of Tears I got a little worried. Why mess with a good thing, I wondered. Her last CD was perfect for damned near every mood and occasion.
From the upcoming new album The Boys Are Back (May, 2009), the Oak Ridge Boys cover The White Stripes’ hit “Seven Nation Army”:
In the spirit of fellow contributor, Lorna Bracewell, I am gonna go ahead and call it: The Oak Ridge Boys are lesbians and it’s all Tom Cruise’s fault.
For the last few months I’ve been thinking about ways I could utilize my twitter account to capture my immediate feelings about things before they have the ability to be filtered and clouded by time and/or sobriety. Then along came the Katy Perry show and I decided I wanted to go, not because I am a fan of her music (though I know her two hits), but because I thought it would be a fun show. More on that later. Somewhere along the timeline from finding out I had a press pass for the show to actually getting to the show, I decided it would be the perfect candidate for testing the “live blogging via twitter” idea out at the show. Here are those tweets:
I came about my musical addiction naturally. When I was a young-un my parents had an extensive vinyl collection. I can remember weekend trips from Plant City into Tampa to buy a new record and long nights with my parents and their friends sitting around listening to music. Once I finally reached and age where I could be trusted, my father let me sift through the albums and play DJ on some of those nights.
One of the albums they had was The Amazing Rhythm Aces album Too Stuffed To Jump, and as a kid I loved this album — at the time not so much for its content as its cover:
This cover of Stand By Me was recorded by completely unknown artists in a street virtual studio all around the world. It all started with a base track—vocals and guitar—recorded on the streets of Santa Monica, California, by a street musician called Roger Ridley. The base track was then taken to New Orleans, Louisiana, where Grandpa Ellitott—a blind singer from the French Quarter—added vocals and harmonica while listening to Ridley’s base track on headphones. In the same city, Washboard Chaz’s added some metal percussion to it.
And from there, it just gets rock ‘n’ rolling bananas: The producers took the resulting mix all through Europe, Africa, and South America, adding new tracks with multiple instruments and vocals that were assembled in the final version you are seeing in this video. All done with a simple laptop and some microphones.
Okay, last month we stumbled, both technically and performance wise, through the debut podcast. Come month two, we’re ready to drop the cream of Americana podcasts (from one of the best Americana blogs) on you, and our tech is prepped for the amount of awesome that you’re likely to find yourself listening to multiple times a week. I know I’m coming off like the Kanye West of the Americana blogging community, but I don’t give a fuck. I like fish sticks and I’m telling you, you’re gonna love it and you’re gonna listen to it numerous times. I feel that confident.
So, here is the tracklisting for what very well may be the only thing you listen to for the rest of this week:
Drive-by Truckers – Nine Bullets
Autopsy IV Commentary
Strawfoot – Cursed Neck
Pinebox Serenade – Woven Arms
Uncle Sinner – When Jesus Comes
Autopsy IV Commentary
Olin & The Moon – Call Me Up
American Aquarium – California
Eileen Jewell – Sea of Tears
Autopsy IV Commentary
Drag The River – Old Sad Songs [extended] (Lucero Cover)
Gillian Welch & Old Crow Medicine Show – The Weight (The Band Cover)
Scott H. Biram – Sinking Down (FD Session)
Jon & Chad (Drag The River) – Dancin’ In The Moonlight (Thin Lizzy Cover)
Autopsy IV Commentary
Grayson Capps – Going Back To The Country
Chris Knight – Enough Rope
Autopsy IV Commentary
Two Cow Garage – Should’ve California
IF YOU LISTEN TO THIS AND ENJOY IT PLEASE FORWARD IT TO SOMEONE ELSE!
Man, it’s been a while since we had a “To Do” and, I ain’t gonna lie, the break has been nice. Having done one to two shows a week for a month-plus, I was ready for some time off. Now, having had said time off, I need to go to a fucking show. Luckily for me and the rest of you Tampa/’Burg-ians, we got a weekend loaded with the awesome. So let’s go through it:
Thursday @ New World: The Woodsboss
There is no shortage of people who’ve danced a shit-ton of nights away at New World to the live blessings of The Weary Boys. Those were the kinds of nights that stories are made of. A band without a label relentlessly touring enough to build huge followings, in enough towns they could play packed houses in every state of the union. Then reality came crawling and The Weary Boys disbanded.
Wha? Why? What’s gonna? WTFingF?
Shock, rage, sadness.
Enter The Woodsboss. Which, FYI, is basically The Weary Boys minus Darren and plus Brian’s wife.
So, all you Weary Boy fans needs to get your asses up off the couch and get out to New World Thursday night and we’ll dance again to the fine fine sounds of Mario, The Woodsboss and a few Weary Boys faves.
Strawfoot is “an angry preacher and a bunch of foul-mouthed heathens” from somewhere in St. Louis. The moment I heard the track “Damnation Way” from the Rodentia compilation I was excited almost to the point of being giddy to hear more music from them. Within 5 minutes of hearing them for the first time I was downloading their complete album from Amazon MP3.
Often in times like these you find that your hopes are met by inconsistent music that never quite measure up to the song that got you there. By the time I had gotten to the third track, “Chasing Locusts,” I knew that “Damnation Way,” the tune that had introduced me to Strawfoot, wasn’t even their best.
The ninebullets.net debut podcast is everything you’d expect; awesome music, supliferous use of the word “fuck” and a host who is so drunk he stars slurring by the end of the hour.
So, check it out and tune in next month, where I’ll curse more and probably drink less:
Since Drag The River “broke up,” it stood to reason that guitarist/singer Jon Snodgrass and singer Chad Price would be releasing solo efforts. Chad is supposed to have one coming out by the end of 2009, and while I wouldn’t put the notion of another Drag The River album completely to bed, Mr. Snodgrass was the first to strike with Visitor’s Band.
Over the course of 2008, Jon managed to book studio time on both coasts and places in between to record Visitor’s Band. He also managed to pull in a few collaborators like Chad Rex, Joey Erg, Chris Pierce and ninebullets.net faves, Two Cow Garage. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ll be honest, I’m not really too into tribute albums. I mean, they usually have their high points but when you take them as a whole, they tend to feel mailed in or uninspired.
Such is not the case with this particular tribute album, and while I am sure there have been no shortage of tribute albums dedicated to Hank Sr. or Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter, I am sure there hasn’t ever been one quite like this. For one, check out the take-no-prisoner’s, my-way-or-fuck-you roster of contributing artists. With acts like Scott H. Biram, Possessed By Paul James, Bob Log III, Jawbone, Wayne “The Train” Hancock and Soda involved, you know these aren’t just gonna be mere remakes of classics. For another thing, take the folks putting it out — Hillgrass Bluebilly Entertainment. In what dealings I’ve had with these guys, two things are certain. 1) They have as much passion about the whole punkass/deep blues scene as anyone, and 2) if they are gonna do something they are gonna do it 100 percent all out. Taking all that into account I had a hard time imagining how this particular tribute album couldn’t be awesome.
No. This isn’t just me passing along some press release I got. Yes, I genuinely like Tori Amos. I see you shaking your head in disgust and to that I say “feh!”. Admittedly, I’m not that big on the material she’s released post-2000, but I love(d) every album she released in the ’90s and I love this track as well.
It’s from her new album, Abnormally Attracted to Sin, set to be released in May. I hope this track is indicative of the whole album.
In an effort to take all of your drinking money this weekend, Dave’s is following the Mojo Guru’s CD release party on Friday night with a double bill of magnificent proportions; .357 String Band and Joe Buck on Saturday night.
The last time Joe came to town I wasn’t really that much of a fan. I basically went to see the opening act and be a head in the crowd. By show’s end, Joe had won me over and I said as much in my show review:
Now, I’m gonna be honest. I’m not really a fan of Joe’s recorded material. I just can’t get past the muddy production and the songs really aren’t that interesting to me. That said, what fails to captivate on cd flourishes in a live setting. Turns out, Joe writes the kind of music you need to be in the same room with. Joe, hunched over a guitar, red uplight casting eerie shadows, his hyperactive left leg smashing out a back-beat on an old bass drum while he recites lyrics of murder and satan through gritted teeth. I started wishing I had listened to his cds more so I could join the crowd in singing along.
That said, what fails to captivate on CD flourishes in a live setting. Turns out, Joe writes the kind of music you need to be in the same room with. Joe, hunched over a guitar, red uplight casting eerie shadows, his hyperactive left leg smashing out a back-beat on an old bass drum while he recites lyrics of murder and satan through gritted teeth. I started wishing I had listened to his CDs more so I could join the crowd in singing along.
The .357 String Band looks like one half an industrial rock band and one half a country band.
Way back in the beginning of ninebullets.net, I wrote a piece about the band Roxx Gang. There was a period in the late ’80s when I thought they were quite simply the bees knees.
Flash forward 20 years or so to former Roxx Gang frontman Kevin Steele’s newish band, Mojo Gurus, which is celebrating the release of their new disc, Let’s Get Lit With, this Friday. The Mojo Guru’s are Kevin Steele, Vinnie Granese, Doc Lovett and Mark Busto, and they’ve just signed a multi-album deal with True North Records. Along with Let’s Get Lit, True North will be reissuing the Guru’s first two cd’s, Hot Damn and Shakin’ the Barn, on March 24. To celebrate the occasion, the Mojo Gurus are throwing a big ol’ party at Dave’s Aqua Lounge and you’re all invited. Joining the Gurus will be another one of Tampa’s shining lights, Tailgunner Joe and The Earls of Slander. Read the rest of this entry »
Okay, I’ll be 100% honest. I’m not nearly as familiar with Malcolm Holcombe as I should be. He’s always been an artist I’ve meant to delve into but for what ever reason, have never gotten around to checking out. However, after reading the following quote from leftofthedial I dunno how I could miss the chance to see him live:
“Holcombe played with a scary intensity. I didn’t want to take my eyes away for fear that he’d sneak up behind me and pull out a knife. His voice sounds a thousand years old (I mean that in a good way), probably the result of decades spent smoking and singing. His acoustic fingerpicking was just as hypnotic as his crazy hobo stare. What stood out about his performance even more than the music was his semi-coherent rambling between songs. He just kind of lapsed into and out of stories – I now know all about his wife, his false teeth, and about the $23.50 he made playing in Georgia, among other things.”
I mean, seriously … I think we’re in for something special. Join me will you?
Any other readers out there ever seen Malcolm? How was it?
Sometimes an album review just writes itself. Such is the case with William Elliott Whitmore’s new album, Animals In The Dark, and here is what it writes:
“William Elliott Whitmore’s new album is absolutely awesome and anyone who listens to it and honestly dislikes it needs a swift kick in the crotch.”
Really, I could say “Essential Listening” and the above and feel like I’ve summed it up, but I wanna spend some time telling you just how awesome it is.
Animals In The Dark marks a couple of firsts for Whitmore. It’s his first album on Anti- Records. Existing fans will find all new sounds and full band arrangements. The banjo we’ve come to love makes a couple of brief appearances, but for the most part Animals In The Dark is a full, multi-instrument affair. This may turn off some of his old fans, but I can’t see how. The expansion of his sound has done nothing to lessen his impact, it just helps to make it a little more accessible. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ll be totally honest with y’all. The moment I opened the envelope this album came in and saw the cover and read the band name and CD title, I wanted to like it. Add to that the fact that it was coming off the freshly reborn Ardent Music label and I needed to like it. So strong was my want to like this album that I was afraid to listen to it, so I gave it to my wife first. I figured that way, if it sucks, hearing about it from her would be less disappointing than finding out for myself.
A week later, the report was in: “Awesome! Really sounds like Mofro.”
Immediately I confiscated the cd from her car (she’s still bitching) and tossed it in my CD player.
Jump Back Jake is Jake Rabinbach (vocals/guitar), Jake Vest (guitar/vocals), Brandon Robertson (bass) and Greg Faison (drums), who are joined by the part-time horn playing of Paul Morelli (sax) and Nashon Benford (trumpet). Jump Back Jake’s embryo started while Rabinbach was on a trip from New York to Memphis that was doubling as a “do I wanna move here?” visit. Rabinbach was playing solo and opening for a band at 4 a.m. at a bottle club when Faison decided to join him on stage and improv the drums. Months passed, Jake decided to follow the sirens of the South, he called Faison up to join him, and two weeks later, Jump Back Jake V.1.0 was born. Read the rest of this entry »
This Friday, San Francisco’s murdergrass outfit, The Pine Box Boys, will make their triumphant return to the stage at Dave’s Aqua Lounge. The last time these guys came through town I partied a little too hard with my good buddies Beam and Ginger, and was unable to write a decent review of the show, which is a good sign I had one hell of a good time (and I did). The interplay of the band members as well as their faux-arguments even makes the between-song inner-band banter a complete riot.
You’re asking, what does the band sound like? You’re wondering, what exactly is murdergrass? Well, let’s say you put Old Crow Medicine Show and Those Poor Bastards in a blender. Now, if you were to puree them, you’d get one hell of a mess, but if that mess could somehow make music, that amalgam of Old Crow and TPB would be The Pine Box Boys. If Old Crow are Dr. Jekyll, then The Pine Box Boys are their Mr. Hyde. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s lunch hour on a Tuesday afternoon and I’m doing what every descent red-blooded American that has managed to keep their job is doing — I’m using the company’s bandwidth to watch videos. Today has been especially good and I thought I’d share some with y’all:
On the way to the show, I kept thinking that I needed to keep my wits about me. This was the first show that I’d acquired the tickets through Creative Loafing and it would be nice to impress them with lucid recollections on our first shot at this show review thing. Kind of like dating, you know, give them the angelic version of Autopsy for the first few weeks, let them get attached a little and then show them the rambling, incoherent “what? I saw a show tonight? Did I like it?” version. Everything was going according to plan. I was stone sober (mostly) and we were on schedule to get to the venue and walk in just in time for Old Crow to start. Then, everything went to hell. When we got to Tampa Theatre, we found out that Old Crow was a little over an hour from playing. A professional would have went in and watched the opening act but Creative Loafing fired most of their professionals and now they’re stuck with a lush like me. So, while one of those many professionals CL used to employ would have gone on in … I headed to The Hub. And the rest, as they say, is history … My head was wet with whiskey and about 10 people were in front of me in the beer line when I heard the show start; one-and-a-half songs later, I took my seat and this is my story.
The last time Old Crow Medicine Show came through Tampa, they played to a sold-out crowd at the legendary Skipperdome. This time through, the band switched it up and took the stage at the historic Tampa Theater. Going to the show, I knew two things for certain. One, this would be a much mellower crowd and two, it would be almost perfect sound wise.
The show was broken up into two sets with a 20-minute break in between. The first set was enjoyable enough but it was lacking the energy I’d feared it might. The crowd was flat and the band, both in song selection as well as stage performance, was mellow. I was dead-on about the sound, though. Tampa Theatre never disappoints on that front unless you’re there to see a movie. I’m not saying the first set was bad … it was just a little lackluster. Had the entire show gone on at that pace, I would have probably gotten bored before the end.
This was a stark contrast from their previous show at Skipper’s and as the band walked off the stage after the first set, I was worried that the more formal venue was dictating a more stuffy performance.
Maybe I needed more whiskey to help me find their groove. Fortunately, due to state smoking laws, Tampa Theatre now allows re-entry and The Hub is a mere 20 (yes, I counted) steps away. Read the rest of this entry »
ninebullets.net is the official online presenter of the O’Death show here in Tampa this Tues., Feb. 3 at Orpheum. While I’m not entirely sure what “the official online presenter” really means, I can also say I don’t really care. Anytime I have the chance to align the site with the Appalachian Apocalypse from New York that is O’Death, you best believe I am gonna do it. What this means for the local reader is that I have a pair of tickets to give away to the show and what this means for both the local and non-local reader alike is that I have (3) copies of their latest CD, Broken Hymns, Limbs and Skin, to offer to you, the loyal ninebullets.net reader.
What do you have to do for the loot, you ask? Well, go to O’death’s myspace profile and then email me what the fourth song on their music player is. First local person gets the tickets and I’ll give the CD’s to the first three locals or out-of-towners to email me the same answer.
If you don’t win, don’t let that deter you from checking out this show, Tampa. It’s definitely gonna be a show of the year candidate. Here is what I wrote about them the last time they came to Ybor City: Read the rest of this entry »
One of those bands that really caught my attention at the 2008 Deep Blues Festival was The Pack A.D. I was already a fan prior to the fest but after seeing their set, I was gung-ho.
The band has just made a video and shipped it off to MTV and everything. So, hopefully it’ll get a chance to be one of the three vids MTV plays one day. Since the odds of that are about as good as Arizona’s chances of winning the Super Bowl this week I figured I’d post it here: Read the rest of this entry »
Another week comes to pass and I am a mere two weeks away from heading out west for some snowboarding. I am gonna try to make this weekly Americana(ish) web round-up a regular thing. Is anyone out there reading them? Anyhow, outside of music I have a few things I’m thinking about…
First, what the hell was Radhika thinking on Top Chef this week? The leader of the losing restaurant always gets eliminated in Restaurant Wars. She should have thrown the quickfire.
Second, the Rays went to the World Series, a black man is our president and the Arizona Cardinals are in the Superbowl. I dunno about you, but I spent this week looking up girls from highschool. Hell has obviously frozen over and it’s time for them to make good on some promises.
And finally, is there anything on earth better than VH1 reality TV? I had long thought Rock of Love was god’s gift to us but then they go and one up themselves with Tool Academy. Thank you, VH1, for giving my Sunday’s without football meaning again.
On an unusually cold night in Florida, me and about 20 or so of my closest friends (total strangers) managed to get out to Dave’s for Dahlonega, Georgia’s own Smokestack and the Foothill Fury. It’s a real shame so few people came out ’cause it was one hell of a show.
I walked in just as tour opener, The Corduroy Road, was starting. What an amazing little surprise they were. A four-piece with two singers, banjo, harmonies and harmonicas. The band plays a mix of bluegrass and country and they play it well. Unfortunately, the EP they’re selling suffers from less than stellar studio production, but they are looking to release a full-length sometime this summer. Hopefully they’ll have the studio kinks worked out and their recorded efforts will came across as well has their live show.
Smokey hit the stage next and you wouldn’t have known if there were 20 or 200 people in Dave’s from his performance. Despite having had a long night the previous evening, every bit of that “Tasmanian devil with a guitar” energy hit the the stage and started running through songs at a completely blistering pace. The sparse crowd showed their pleasure all night, making numerous trips to the tip jar. While there was an occasional song played at a slower pace, I’d imagine that the average BPM for Smokey’s set was about 180. For the longest time, Smokestack suffered from the same fate that The Corduroy Road did, a CD with crappy recording quality, but he solved that problem with Ain’t Gonna Pine and you can look for a full review in the coming week or so.
Smokey plays in this area four or five times a year. Do yourself a favor and catch one of his shows — you won’t be disappointed.
Hey everyone. Here’s some shit I wanted to get to or saw this week that I wanted to pass along:
Ever heard of $5 Cover: Memphis? Yeah, me neither. Apparently, it’s a faux-reality show that’s gonna be airing on MTV. The cool thing is that it will feature ninebullets.net faves Lucero. Looks like that major label deal is already paying off. You go boys! Here is the trailer:
Some good news has come down the pipe from Virgil over on Suburban Home Records. In the coming month, we’re gonna see a new release from Drag The River, Bad at Breaking Up, a collection of 7″-only tracks, B-sides, and tracks from their split LP with The Dents. If that wasn’t cool enough, Jon Snodgrass will also release his first solo effort, Visitor’s Band, which features guest spots by Two Cow Garage, Chad Rex, Joey Erg, Chris Pierce, Eric Powers, and others. Here are some tracks from those releases:
Finally, the folks over on Twangnation brought it to my attention that famed New York blues guitarist, Popa Chubby, is gonna give this whole country music thing a try with his wife in a project called Vicious Country. Out of the gate, they’re covering Hank III’s song, Straight To Hell. Not a bad way to start Popa! Here is the video:
Imagine if you took the Tasmanian devil and put him in a chair with a couple of guitars, a slide, and some weird snare drum connected to a foot pedal contraption, and then demanded “MAKE MUSIC.” This explains the frenzy that is Smokestack and the Foothill Fury (which is actually only one person). Here’s what mountainfreak.net had to say about him:
“I wandered a little south of my normal coverage area this month to Loco’s in Gainesville for some music by a fellow whose sound I had heard labeled “Punk-Country-Blues.” Hard for me to miss something with a handle like that. “Smokestack” is a one man band with enough energy for a quartet. Armed with a small arsenal of guitars, his foot driven rhythm section, and a knack for telling a story..he puts on a good show that is a little different but highly entertaining.
So, I hope to see some of y’all out tonight. Catch me early and we can share a drink and tell some lies.
Perhaps I was just young, but there seemingly was a time when 
@autopsy4: 
I came about my musical addiction naturally. When I was a young-un my parents had an extensive vinyl collection. I can remember weekend trips from Plant City into Tampa to buy a new record and long nights with my parents and their friends sitting around listening to music. Once I finally reached and age where I could be trusted, my father let me sift through the albums and play DJ on some of those nights.
Strawfoot is “an angry preacher and a bunch of foul-mouthed heathens” from somewhere in St. Louis. The moment I heard the track “Damnation Way” from the 
In an effort to take all of your drinking money this weekend, Dave’s is following the 
