If you were trying to explain to someone the difference between mainstream country and alternative country, one way to start might be to posit that alternative country artists are much more likely to be influenced by Gram Parsons. It’s no […]
The, uh, unorthodox cover of this issue was really just a coincidence, driven primarily by the dilemma of how to present a decidedly horizontal photo within a plainly vertical template. But once Grant had stood one of the basic tenets […]
Almost all of them arise out of nothing, these unlikely collectives we call rock ‘n’ roll bands. Rarely are they set in motion with some grand master scheme finessed over weeks of research and planning; rather, it starts with two […]
It gets to the heart of the matter when we’re discussing a couple of cover songs, sitting in the living room of the North Austin home Kelly Willis shares with her husband, fellow musician Bruce Robison, on the first day […]
Songwriters held in high esteem by fellow artists while remaining largely unknown to the masses are common in Texas music. From the late, legendary troubadour Townes Van Zandt to wordsmith extraordinaire Butch Hancock to psychedelic prophet Roky Erickson to simpleton-savant […]
In the wake of the recent slaughters in the major-label ranks, one hardly needs further convincing as to the virtues of the indie way of doing things, but this record provides precisely that sort of evidence, in a manner far […]
“I just wanted some kind of documentation of what I’ve done with the last seven years. And to not have anything — I mean, it’s hard to even consider yourself a legitimate part of any kind of music community or […]
It’s a new-age laundromat now, the spot at 2915 Guadalupe that for most of the ’80s and ’90s was home to Antone’s, the world-famous “home of the blues” in Austin that moved downtown a couple years ago. Just a few […]
Sometimes the good breaks are lurking in the midst of disasters. When Tim Easton’s band, Columbus, Ohio, roots-rockers the Haynes Boys, made their first appearance at the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas, in 1995, they were eagerly […]
Still recording at home in the California desert and selling out of their Post Office Box in Joshua Tree, the Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers haven’t changed much since their self-titled debut of last year. On Pacific Coast Rambler, husband-and-wife […]
