If the only thing you know about Knoxville are Bill Dance’s hat and that episode of the Simpsons where Bart rents a car to go to the World’s Fair, you’re missing out on something big: the Dirty Guv’nahs and the fiercely loyal following they’ve built in their hometown.
As you probably just said to yourself, at times they sound a bit like the Black Crowes, if Chris Robinson never had to stop and ask what planet we’re on, which is basically a convoluted way of pointing out they’ve got soul and a lot of early-days-of-rock-n-roll influences.
The Dirty Guv’nahs recorded their last album with David Barbe in Athens, which is really starting to mean something these days. The man has an amazing way of capturing and mixing keys, and the organ and piano on their self-titled album alternate between supporting and lifting that joyous noise necessary in any band from the South described as soulful.
Back in December the Dirty Guv’nahs went up to Woodstock and recorded in Levon Helm’s studio with Justin Guip, who produced Levon’s Grammy-winning album Dirt Farmer. One listen to “Jericho” above, and that makes total sense. That album should be out sometime around June.
And that’s a pretty badass cover. You can get the Dirty Guv’nahs’ self-titled album for a ridiculously low price of around two bucks on Amie Street, or if you want the band to eat dinner tonight, you can get it on Amazon or iTunes.
