As you may or may not know I am rather proud of being clean off of cocaine for, at this point, almost 2 decades. I had a good run and can’t say there weren’t a lot of amazing times involved but when it came time to kick I kicked and haven’t looked back. That may seem like a strange way to start a review but honestly that’s what this album brings to mind. Not the doing but the kicking. The jonesing in the middle of the night, the feverish sweats, the trashing of closets looking for a stash I may have overlooked and finally collapsing and slipping into feverish and fitful sleep. J. Roddy Walston and the Business have managed to make music that feels like that. The pace is feverish, the vocals have a desperate longing and the lyrics are cut to the core raw. Even the damn album cover played into the feeling this music imparted to me as I worked my way through this one.

I have listened to this one more than a couple of time at this point and honestly don’t know whether or not I actually like it. There’s something there under the feverish desperation that keeps me coming back for more but I can never put my finger on it. The epiphany never manages to show up. Now don’t get me wrong this a damn good album. The production is great, J. Roddy Walston and the Business click in a way that lot of bands never do and the lyrics are good throughout but I still can’t sit through it start to finish. Maybe it’s just the things I described haunting me a little too much whilst J. Roddy is wailing to the highly abused piano and driving backbeat that overwhelms me. In short, J. Roddy Walston and the Business, it’s me not you. I think some of the 9B readers will find this album right up their alley even if I can only do a few songs at a time. But please don’t think for a second I am running this one down. My thoughts are far from saying anything negative about these boys. This album is intense on so many levels and it’s most assuredly worth your time. I realize, while listening to this one and writing about it, just like jonesing for more blow I keep fucking coming back to this one for more…

J. Roddy Walston and the Business – Don’t Break The Needle
J. Roddy Walston and the Business – Used To Did
J. Roddy Walston and the Business – Uh Oh Rock & Roll

J. Roddy Walston and the Business on MySpace
J. Roddy Walston and the Business on Facebook

Here is a phenomenal video of Konrad performing, Shoulda Known Better, off his new album Feed The Family:

[Photo by: Jeff O'Kelley]

Saturday night, the wife and I braved the torrential downpour and ventured out to the State Theatre to see Hank III and his traveling band. Due to some issues with openers in the past few months, Hank is currently (and for the unforeseeable future) touring without any opening acts, which would normally make me pretty happy but III has a history of bringing some pretty good bands out on the road with him. Anyhow, due to the aforementioned rains, we arrived frighteningly late and worried about having missed the beginning of the show only to find ourselves standing around for a good hour, making the lack of an opener even more painful.

Some of you might be wondering, given my stance on III’s recent albums, why I would even bother going to a III show at all. Well, truth is, the fact that the wife and I would get in for free certainly aided in the decision, but there’s also the fact that I’ve never said the dude puts on a bad show. No. Redundant topics and tired material aside, Hank III live is still a show worth going to see and this especially rainy Saturday night was no different.

Once the band took the stage, the format was pretty standard: country, Hellbilly, country and Assjack. Hank took the stage and immediately took command of what had to be a capacity crowd. The opening country set came in pretty short, with the band only playing three or four numbers before being joined on stage by Assjack frontman Gary Lindsey [pictured after the jump] for the Hellbilly set.

Now, I gotta say, I’ve seen Hank III a lot of times, and this was probably the best Hellbilly set I’ve ever seen from him. The band was tight, the sound was great and Lindsey’s growls, screams and backing vocals were spot on and perfect. By the time the Hellbilly set was winding down the excessively drunk masses from the pits were starting to stumble their way towards the back, stepping on feet, spilling beers and being the nuisance I typically am, so the wife and I drifted towards the back / lobby area for the remainder of the country set. (I’ve seen III live enough to know what he looks like, I just need to hear him these days.)

Hank made up for the short duration of the initial country set with the second that stretched on for over an hour. They did a really good job of interspersing the newer (not as good/bad) material in with his older (awesome) stuff so that I, an avowed nonfan of his recent material, never started looking at my watch, wanting the set to be over. That said, as is typical for me, I left before the Assjack began. I love the fact that he plays the Assjack set, but I’m only lukewarm to it on CD and do not like it live at all.

In the end, the show really reinforced my overall opinion of III these days. You can see the talent in him, but the last two albums have just felt, in a word, lazy. The songs don’t even come off well in a live environment. As I said when reviewing The Rebel Within, hopefully the last two albums were put out to get off Curb Records and now that he’s free we’ll see a return to Straight To Hell form.

Hopefully.

Hank III – Country Heroes
Hank III – Pills I Took

I have always love road trips and from a very young age loved sitting in the back of the old station wagon in that flip up rear seat, facing traffic and digging whatever 8 tracks my dad would put in. I have a lot of good memories involving driving around Texas aimlessly with my best friend, trying to get lost but never managing it or driving three hours to just to prove to someone that some hole in the wall had the best BBQ. The spontaneous road trip was a staple of my life for a lot of years. It’s not so much these days but damn those are some fun memories. So this humble Top 5 is all about that since I’ve been kinda getting the itch lately and can’t scratch it even a little bit…

01 – Golden Earing – Radar Love | This might be the cheesiest road trip song ever but you know it was the right time and the place that one night…
02 – The Business – Drinking and Driving | It’s probably not even PC to admit that you ever liked this song much less to put in a Top 5 list but damn it was a good road trip tune back in the day!
03 – Jason Boland and the Stragglers – Somewhere Down in Texas | This one is the perfect pulling out of the driveway in search of adventure track for your road trip compilation.
04 – Ray Wylie Hubbard – Choctaw Bingo | As a parent now I wonder if my dad ever pulled anything like this one describes. I also wonder if I will once we get that van and can road trip.
05 – Pat Green – Southbound 35 | Because every road trip has to end at some point it’s always good to have a headed home song on hand to set the mood. Right now this one is it for me.

AUTOPSY IV’S ANSWERS: First things first, I had to come clean and admit that if I am driving long distances (over 4 hours in the car) I am more of a sports talk radio than music kind of guy. It tends to keep me more engaged (read: awake) but that’s not to say I don’t have some “go to” road trip selections….so here you go:

Clutch – Cypress Grove: If you ever see a dude fly by you in an unwashed Honda Element with a Seminoles sticker on the back and a driver rocking. the. fuck. out. That’s probably me listening to Clutch’s Blast Tyrant album.

Old Crow Medicine Show – Minglewood Blues: I tend to struggle with staying awake when driving for more than about two hours so my music needs to be engaging and active. Old Crow fits the bill more often than not.

Slim Cessna’s Auto Club – This Is How We Do Things In The Country: Lots of great music comes from Colorado and I love it all but let’s be honest, Colorado’s greatest natural export is Slim Cessna’s Auto Club. Road trip, late night whiskey, kicking it around the house….SCAC’s discography is never farther away from me than my iPhone.

The Gaslight Anthem – Only Cowgirls Get The Blues: Love ‘em (I do) or Hate ‘em (many do) it’s hard to argue that they’re music was almost custom made for listening while clocking 80 down the interstate all alone with destinations unknown.

Murder City Devils – Every Shitty Thing: Personally, these guys (and gal) are where road trip music begins and ends. They are my goto road tripping band ever since I first heard them.

A podcast on a Tuesday. Kind of outta the norm for when I like to post these, but I am trying to see if I can get the traffic level on them increased. Some months kill, while others barely get any listens at all, and one way or the other I’d like to achieve some form of consistency. But that’s enough of my whining. Let’s talk about this month’s show.

First thing you might notice is that this show was actually assembled in two different pieces with two dramatically different levels of sobriety between them. See if you can find the breaking point. Other than that, the first 1/2 of this show is a preview/celebration of my pending trip to Denver for the Suburban Home Records 15th Anniversary Party shows. If you’re gonna be joining me there, then I think you’ll love the part of the show. If you were trying to make it but for whatever reasons just couldn’t make it, consider this some loving salt for your wound. After the Denver segments we barrel into some utterly awesome new music from some bands you may or may not have ever heard of, such as American Graveyard, Left Foot Sally and Gill Landry. I also managed to drop an oldie but goodie from Matthew Dean Herman in there, but I think when you hear it you’ll agree with me that it just. fucking. fit.

We end this month’s podcast from a side project of Devon’s from The Takers. The name of the band is/was Thunderband and they had a standing in Gainesville before Michael moved away. I’ll probably play some more tracks from their demo cd in the coming months.

Well folks, that’s it. Another month in the can and I hope y’all like it. If you do, could you please, please, please post something about it on twitter, facebook and whatever cutting edge social network I am oblivious to?

Thanks.

~ Autopsy IV (twitter / facebook)

August 2010 Track Listing:

1. Josh Small – Come Down [00.00.00]
2. Micah Schnabel – Cut Me Mick [00.05.32]
3. Autopsy IV Commentary [00.08.40]
4. Tim Barry (w/Josh Small) – Thing of the Past [00.10.12]
5. Two Cow Garage – Burn In Hell [00.13.56]
6. I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch In The House – Bad Days Ahead [00.18.48]
7. Drag The River – Get Drunk (Live) [00.22.58]
8. Autopsy IV Commentary [00.25.02]
9. Possessed By Paul James – Feed Your Family [00.27.01]
10. American Graveyard – Common Ones [00.29.05]
11. Left Foot Sally – Second Wind [00.32.46]
12. Matthew Dean Herman – Soule Lake Hotel [00.36.00]
13. Autopsy IV Commentry [00.40.26]
14. Gill Landry – Careless Hotel [00.42.55]
15. The Waifs – Vermillion [00.46.46]
16. Counting Crows – Good Time [00.50.32]
17. Autopsy IV Commentary [00.54.45]
18. Thunderband – Battle Bums [00.57.05]

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The last time I wrote about Possessed By Paul James I was relatively sure no one outside of my little Deep Blues circle had any idea who he was. Flash forward a couple of years and a stint on the last Revival Tour, and people on my alt.country/punk-folk circle have at least heard of him and a few lucky ones have seen him live.

Possessed By Paul James is one Mr. Konrad Wert, currently living in Texas but hailing from my home state of Florida. His past two albums, Possessed By Paul James and Cold and Blind, coupled with his live shows have garnered him a cult following as rabid as any, and one I am proud to call myself a part of. That said, the albums have also fallen into the “love ‘em or hate ‘em” category. It’s an issue I can relate to because for the longest time I loved Cold and Blind but found Possessed By Paul James utterly unlistenable. That was, until I managed to catch him live 2 times at the Deep Blues Festival 3 years ago.

Konrad is best understood if you’ve seen him live, that’s an undeniable fact, but it’s become less of a requirement with each album, and now with Feed The Family I think he’s managed to make an album accessible enough that the live show isn’t a requirement for those with a slightly more confined musical palate. Feed the Family captures everything that makes Possessed By Paul James great without spending too much time in that challenging area that requires knowing him live to be able to truly “get it”

So, what does that get you? For long time fans, the stomps, vocal quakes and yelps are still present. For the potential newly indoctrinated (slash Konard live virgins), said stomps, vocal quakes and yelps are mixed more into the background, with Konrad’s picking and passion out front for display. The results are a surprisingly restrained sound that manages to capture the immediate and passionate nature of Konrad’s music. I think with all that said, it’s clear that this is seriously some Essential Listening. If you’ve heard PBPJ before and didn’t like it, listen again ‘cause this is easily the best album he’s recorded to date, as well as a done deal for a slot on the 9B Top 10 of the 2k10.

Possessed By Paul James – Feed The Family
Possessed By Paul James – We Welcome You Home
Possessed By Paul James – Color Of My Bloody Nose

Possessed By Paul James’ official site, Possessed By Paul James on myspace, Buy Feed The Family

If you like straight up dancehall country that doesn’t take itself too seriously, then The Cornell Hurd Band’s A Bad Year For Love is an album you might enjoy. With decades of experience playing country music under their belts it’s a polished offering that hearkens back to a better time with better music.

Whether it’s tracks where the band obviously has their tongues firmly in their cheeks or more serious songs there’s not a song that’s hard to listen to on this album. Conversely there’s not a single stand out track in the lineup. A few of them might inspire one to fast waltz or maybe even western swing but, while polished, The Cornell Hurd Band sounds mostly like a house band. That could be because aside from touring around Austin they sort of are the house band for Jovita’s in South Austin.

While there’s not a track that really jumps out on this album it’s still a solid honky tonk/Texas dancehall sound throughout and a good listen. I could easily knock back some Lone Star with it playing in the background and maybe even sing along with a couple of tracks and if I were in Austin I would make a point to make it by somewhere they were playing even if only to see if I could find a little cowgirl to twirl around the floor for a dance or two.

The Cornell Hurd Band – Respect for the Dead
The Cornell Hurd Band – Invitation to the Blues
The Cornell Hurd Band – My Love Lives in South Austin

The Cornell Hurd Band’s Official Website
The Cornell Hurd Band on MySpace

Hellbound Glory.

I’ll be honest with y’all. I’ve seen their name around the internets and received numerous suggestions to check ‘em out over the past year or so but the band’s name coupled with the album title of Scumbag Country and song titles like “Mickey Meth” I just blew them off as a novelty band at best and raper of the southern image at worst. In other words, I never listened to them and had no real intentions of ever doing so.

Then, somewhere on the way to never, I came across a mention of the band earlier this month by Triggerman (of Saving Country Music), a blogger who’s opinion I don’t always agree with but I do always respect. With that, I begrudgingly decided that this was a band I should at least give an obligatory listen to…

Hellbound Glory comes to us out of Reno (how appropriate), Nevada. The band’s bio has all the appropriate outlaw, cash, haggard, Coe references while their songs round up all the drug, booze and heartache that one would add to the pot when cooking up a new “outlaw” country album.

If it sounds like I’m not completely convinced of the image Hellbound Glory is putting forth, it’s because, in truth, I’m not wholly convinced it isn’t contrived or at least pushed to complete hyperbole. That said, I am convinced that 95% of the songs on Old Highs and New Lows are fantastic….even when they tread well worn ground. Musically these guys do a great job of making that classic country sound you’re used to hearing come out of your old man’s truck radio while being lyrically focusing on the bingeing and drugging of the modern “outlaw” country movement. In a pitch you could call these guys the “rock bottom” version of Whitey Morgan and the 78’s.

Old Highs and New Lows is well worth checking out as is Hellbound Glory. I only hope that as time wears on they start to expand lyrically less they end up travelling the same “been there heard that” road III is currently on.

Hellbound Glory – Why Take The Pain
Hellbound Glory – Gettin’ High and Hittin’ New Lows
Hellbound Glory – Slow Suicide

Hellbound Glory’s Official Site, Hellbound Glory on myspace, Buy Old Highs and New Lows

Over this past weekend I managed to finish building my chicken coop and the wife and I went and got us some hens. About 20 minutes after putting them in the coop the rains started. Now, 3 days later, they haven’t stopped. I’m tired of it, by dogs are bored shitless and the new chickens are happy I was able to construct a water tight roosting area.

So, the rains are acting as the inspiration for this weeks Top 5….Songs About The Weather. Personally, I chose all songs about rain but you can use whatever weather events you want.

Blind Melon – No Rain: Man, in hindsight you listen to the words and you go, “holy shit! That song was about heroine.” I sort of wish the bee girl would have grown up to do fetish porn.

CCR – Have You Ever Seen The Rain: An essential CCR jam and it was this one or Bad Moon Rising. I chose this one. I’m pretty relieved Fogerty never shot any fetish porn.

Counting Crows – Raining In Baltimore: This is one of my favorite Counting Crows songs and I’ve felt the pain of this song a few times in my life. Once, was while I was tripping and furry porn was playing in a loop on the television.

Eilen Jewell – Rain Roll In: More people should love Eilen’s music and I have no fetish porn joke for this entry. Well, I do, but they’re terribly inappropriate. Like, fat goth girl with a spandex fetish inappropriate.

The Urbane Cowboys – When It Rains: I figured since I mentioned them yesterday then the least I could do would be to include one of their tracks today since it fit. Also, there are 5 people in the Urbane Cowboys. They’re from the adult industry capital, Tampa, Florida. So, I’d say it’s pretty much a fact one or two of them have shot a fetish porn. Marinate on that shit….or shit on her chest. Your choice.

Honorable mention:

Milli Vanilli – Blame It On The Rain: Oh yeah! This would be the lead track in my fetish porn soundtrack if it weren’t for the audio from the double rainbow video. Seriously, watch the video and imagine that audio running over the top of some porn video. LOLZtastic.

Sometimes an unannounced cd shows up in my mailbox and I immediately want to like it. There’s no rhyme or reason as to why I wanna like it, I just do. With Come Home To Me from The Famous, that was the case. Now rarely does the wanting to like it turn into actually liking it, but I’ll be damned if The Famous didn’t manage to make that journey.

Originally I was planning on writing about these guys and calling them the Americana version of The Pixies, hell if Amazon’s editor review guy didn’t beat me to that one. Then I thought I could draw a comparison to a local band here in Tampa/St. Pete, The Urbane Cowboys, but let’s be real, no one on here even knows who those guys are so I’m in a little bit of a pickle. Omitting my initial two impulses, I am stuck with saying Come Home To Me is a solid Americana album with the requisite jangly guitar, swagger and saunter required to keep it interesting from front to back. I know that sounds kind of generic but that’s not the band’s fault, it’s mine for being at a loss after having my thunder stolen not once, but twice.

The Famous – Off My Mind
The Famous – Ain’t Much Wrong
The Famous – Manu Negra

The Famous’ Official Site, The Famous on myspace, Buy Come Home To Me