Patty Griffins debut is in most ways a simple affair, 10 songs presented with only her voice and guitar for company. Her voice, however, travels an uncertain road, with stops to visit Rickie Lee Jones, Lucinda Williams, Alanis Morissette, Tracy […]
Some celebs are known as black jewels and these celebs are proof that skin color would not matter even a bit if you have talent. There are so many such talents still shining and especially black women have made their […]
Listening to The Buried Life is a little bit like driving out of the city to a tattered old farmhouse to visit a couple of married friends at the end of the day. Which makes sense, given that the band […]
This six-song disc opens with Cactus Wine, which on first listen sounds like a Texas fat string shuffle. But theres more to it than that: Lots of twang and an unexpected modulation before the chorus make this a pretty cool […]
Somehow, no matter where you live and what you do, it always comes back to family. I am visiting that place which is home but no longer home for the weekend, and my older brother is conducting an eloquent disquisition […]
“It’s whiskey-swilling, chainsaw-swinging, psycho-killing, gospel singing rock and roll,” Angry Johnny explains to me about his band’s music. “I guess.” Poor guy. He’s been dumped, screwed over, abandoned by managers, dumped, promised, pushed around, and dumped again. You’d think that’s […]
In the shadow of the new metroplex behemoth (what one distinguished local has dubbed “Y’all Hall”) emerging from a block-wide hole lies a serious strip of American music history. Known as Lower Broad, this is where giants once walked among […]
The Buckets know all about the road well traveled. Actually, they were founded on the concept of the wide open road. “The band is really based on the American ideal of truck driving,” says Earl Butter, the Buckets’ songwriter and […]
There’s a fine line between intimate expression and melodrama, and Richard Buckner toes that line. His songs gracefully walk the tightrope between beauty and tragedy, leaving a lot up to the imagination. They’re full of personal references and insider information, […]
The roots-rock tag sometimes can be a kiss of death, implying a backwards-looking, almost academic rehashing of sounds that once were. But the Derailers look backward with vigor. A museum piece they ain’t. “My grandpa worked on the railroads,” says […]
