Johnny Dowd has something to say. “I’m the alternative to alternative country,” he drawls. Lest there remain any confusion, he adds, “I’m Emmylou Harris…if she couldn’t sing and was a man.” While there’s obviously something flippant in his delivery, Dowd […]
For five years, Tandy has been quietly crafting some of the finest music you’ve probably never heard. With the release of their fourth disc, The Bloodroot Transcriptions, on Yellow Slipper Records, the band has discovered a newfound force and grace. […]
As a musician and songwriter, Tom Freund has had more than his fair share of ups and downs. He’s also made some remarkable musical connections along the way. Having just released his second album, Sympatico, his first on his new […]
Evidently it wasn’t just the grrls who felt like exiles amid the testosterone-fueled Chicago indie-rock scene immortalized in Liz Phair’s mythical Guyville. The Webb Brothers — latecomers to that post-grunge alt-rock mecca (and sons of songwriting legend Jimmy Webb) — […]
Writing in a 1998 issue of the Village Voice, Robert Christgau adduced that John Lee Hooker, who died in his sleep on June 21, was nearly 140 years old. The bluesman was only 80 at the time, which Christgau of […]
Johnny Russell was a singer, songwriter, comedian, and popular Grand Ole Opry performer best known for writing (in cahoots with Voni Morrison) the hit song “Act Naturally”. Covered by numerous artists, most notably Buck Owens and the Beatles, “Act Naturally” […]
West Coast guitarist Roy Nichols was one of the most influential axemen in country music. Though he was best known for his long run as a member of Merle Haggard’s band the Strangers, Nichols was already a seasoned pro by […]
Fred Neil, one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the early folk-rock era, died in his sleep on July 7 at the age of 65. Known to most listeners solely as the author of “Everybody’s Talkin’”, Neil had not released […]
In rebelling against the rebellion, and seeking a return to America’s musical roots, the first generation of so-called country rockers was responsible for rock’s first real retrenchment, looking for a map of the future in the recordings of the Carter […]
Record companies face innumerable obstacles to survival. Surviving (much less prospering) for 50 years with the same person in charge is unprecedented. Ahmet Ertegun beat those odds by turning a small, independent label into one of the world’s major record […]
