SCOTT H. BIRAM – SOMETHING’S WRONG / LOST FOREVER

May 272009

There are certain album releases that could act as national holidays here in ninebullets.net land, and a new album from Scott H. Biram ranks at the top of that list.

As everyone who comes around here very often knows, Scott Biram can be as rough and tumble as they come, releasing albums that mix equal parts country and punk with some gospel and blues added to round off the edges. With Something’s Wrong / Lost Forever, his third album on Bloodshot Records, Scott decided to show us his more tender side. The album opens with organs and the familiar sounds of a Gibson and Scott singing through a CB microphone on “Time Flies”, before shifting into what is easily one of my favorite songs Scott has ever written, “Sinkin’ Down”. From there the album unfolds like a love letter to the one that got away but it’s not all tears in your beer. There’s the god damn the torpedoes rant of our current culture in “Judgement Day”, as well as the full band jump rock track “I Feel So Good” which features another ninebullets.net fave, The Black Diamond Heavies.

Something’s Wrong / Lost Forever is also the first album recorded completely by Scott in his own home studio. One of the things he did was leave some of the mistakes in the final mixes, which I think that really adds a lot of character to an already almost perfect cd.

I know there is a certain amount of danger writing about one of your favorite acts. It would be really easy to sound like your just gushing to sell an act, but the simple truth is that listening to Something’s Wrong / Lost Forever makes me smile. I can’t help but to be happy when it’s playing. For me, it’s not just Essential Listening, it’s gonna be a top 5 of 2009.

Scott H. Biram – Sinkin’ Down
Scott H. Biram – Judgement Day
Scott H. Biram – Hard Time

Scott H. Biram’s Official Site, Scott H. Biram on myspace, Buy Something’s Wrong / Lost Forever

NINEBULLETS.NET MAY 2009 PODCAST

May 212009

We’re back with another podcast. This month features a couple of tracks from the upcoming Evan Phillips benefit album, as well as a track from the upcoming Joey Allcorn album All Alone Again.

Evan Phillips is the front man for one of my favorite new rock and roll bands, The Whipsaws, as well as a member of the trio E.S.P., with Tim Easton and Leeroy Stagger. Seven years ago he suffered an injury while climbing a mountain in California and had surgery to try and repair it, but the surgery was ineffective.  He’s been trying to live with it, but last year it got much worse and The Whipsaws were forced to cancel the remainder of their tour so Evan could get it fixed properly. Unfortunately, there is no insurance plan for touring musicians, so Evan was left with a mountain of bills. The benefit album was put together to help Evan out, while also getting some awesome music out to us (seems more fair than the Paste deal). Featured on the album are 11 bands including Tim Easton, Leeroy Stagger, Ryebender and Wrinkle Neck Mules performing their takes on Evan’s songs. It comes out June 15 so keep an eye on the myspace profile and buy one or two when they become available.

I also decided to do a segment featuring some local area bands, Will Quinlan & The Diviners, Truckstop Coffee and Roppongi’s Ace. All three are part of the upper-crust of the Tampa/Central Florida music scene and they all have albums for sale. I hope y’all like this segment and check out their music in greater detail, I am gonna do this again next month with three more bands from my local scene. I also plan on writing up Roppongi’s Ace’s completely awesome album, Into The Night, next week so be on the lookout.

You may also notice that I’ve added the timestamp to each song in the track listing. That was a suggestion from a reader that I thought was brilliant. If you have any suggestions on how I can make this podcast better, please email me. I’m not too proud, and lord knows I am learning this podcast thing on the fly. And if you’re a band that would like their music featured on the podcast, again, email me.

Okay, that’s enough talking, let’s get to the track list and the music:

  1. Drive-By Truckers – Nine Bullets (00:00:00)
  2. The Devil Makes Three – Working Man’s Blues (04:02:50)
  3. They Might Be Giants – Number Three (07:39:00)
  4. Autopsy IV Talking (09:01:00)
  5. Rye Bender – Highway 395 (10:21:00)
  6. Aaron Lee Tasjan – Fighting For The Man (14:03:00)
  7. Autopsy IV Talking (18:00:75)
  8. The Whipsaws – Jessi Jane (18:54:50)
  9. Michael Dean Damron – Waiting Around To Die (21:58:50)
  10. Autopsy IV Talking (24:38:25)
  11. Joey Allcorn – Lonesome, Lovesick Man (25:27:25)
  12. Drive-By Trucker’s – Great Car Dealer War (29:02:25)
  13. Autopsy IV Talking (34:37:00)
  14. Truckstop Coffee – Blackbird (35:41:25)
  15. Will Quinlan & The Diviners – The Theiving Life (39:35:25)
  16. Roppongi’s Ace – Lord (44:19:25)
  17. Autopsy IV talking (47:15:00)
  18. Bob Log III – It’s The Law (48:26:25)
  19. The Pack A.D. – Wolves and Werewolves (50:45:25)
  20. Autopsy IV Talking (55:30:00)
  21. Little Foot Long Foot – June Bug (55:58:00)

Download this episode (right click and save)

NOTE: This is it! I am headed to the beach for a couple of days and I’m leaving the laptop behind. No internets, no emails, no tweets (okay, probably some from the iPhone) and no updates. Just whiskey, homebrew, a beach, a grill and some ribs begging for 10 hours of low heat. I’ll be back to posting on June 3rd.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO YOUR FRIENDS / ENEMIES.

5 DOLLAR COVER: MEMPHIS: ANOTHER WEEK, MORE FAUX-LOVE

May 202009

Okay, this is gonna be short and sweet…and it will be the last time I write about 5 Dollar Cover. Yes, I watched. Yes, Ben and Lucero finally had their moments and no, it wasn’t any better.

Talking about the show with a friend the other night at the bar, I think I had one of those moments of half-drunk clarity…

I don’t know whose idea it was, Brewer’s or MTV’s. Point is, it doesn’t matter what the original goal of the show was…webisodes, blog posts. Doesn’t matter. The point is, it’s a television show now and I am gonna critique it as such, and being a non-Memphis-ite I am not emotionally attached to the bars, bands (Lucero excluded) or sights of the show. If you wanted to feature Memphis music, then why not do it? Minus the bullshit storylines and fake romances. Personally, that shit is what’s killing the show for me. I don’t care about the old man having a heart attack, nor do I give a shit about two girls squabbling cause they found out they’re fucking the same drummer. If you wanna focus on that then do a “real” reality show. Otherwise, just give me the music.

Just give me the music. That brings me to $5 Cover Amplified. The shit on this site is what should be getting air time, not Ben Nichols making out with an actress. $5 Cover Amplified is more compelling and interesting the $5 Cover ever could be. There are no actresses, no fake romances, no love triangles….just the musicians…not musicians playing MTVified versions of themselves. I’ll still hit $5 Cover Amplified every week cause I am enjoying the hell out of it, but I am officially giving up on $5 Cover the TV show.

Lucero – A Dangerous Thing

SOANGELICATE’S ROCK REPORT: THE PACK AD @ PASTIMES PUB, SARASOTA

May 192009

Considering I drive from St Pete to Sarasota and back every day for work, there are very few things that will get my happy ass back down there, but finally seeing The Pack AD is definitely one of those things.  I’ve had to listen long enough to Autopsy brag about seeing them at Deep Blues last year, now was my turn to catch their show for myself.

The show was scheduled to start at 8 and we got there around 10, figuring that the two openers would be done and we’d be right on time to see the main act.  However, as we walked up to the venue we saw Becky and Maya (aka, The Pack A.D.) chilling out front and they advised us nobody had played yet, but that they were going on second instead of third now.  Eh, fair enough, more drinking time.  We caught a little of the opener, Mumpsy, a 4-piece who reminded me of Dr. Dog with maybe a dash of TMBG, headed to the back with our drinks for a bit, and then it was time for The Pack to take the stage.

Hot damn, these women fucking rock, plain and simple.  On stage Maya seems to be the ambassador, joking around between songs and interacting with the audience.  When she’s working those drums, though, she’s lost in the songs.  Meanwhile, Becky plays the ever living hell out of her guitar while channeling Janis Joplin with that great, big gravelly voice.  When they first took the stage I seriously thought to myself, how the hell is the voice I’ve heard on their CD’s going to come out of her?  Well it did.  All of it.  Wow.  When Maya announced that they were playing their last song for the evening I didn’t want to believe it was almost over, but that was it.  Rock and roll, cut and dry, with no pretense and apparently no encore.  If you’re lucky enough to have their tour coming your way as they head back North towards Canada, you definitely need to catch this show.

Check out The Pack AD’s website for the rest of their tour dates here
See the rest of the pix from the show here

The Pack A.D. – All Day Long
The Pack A.D. – Making Gestures
The Pack A.D. – Wolves & Werewolves

HILL COUNTRY REVUE – MAKE A MOVE

May 182009

A couple of weeks ago Hill Country Revue came to town opening for North Mississippi Allstars and plum took over the show. So good was their set that I was honestly bored with the bulk of the N.M.A. set.

Hill Country Revue is fellow N. Mississippi Allstars Cody Dickinson and Chris Chew being joined by Kirk Smithhart, Ed “Hot” Cleveland and Dixie Dan Coburn. As if that isn’t enough, the majority of the album was written by the youngest of R.L. Burnside’s children, Garry Burnside. There are so many Grammys, bloodlines, pedigrees and touring miles in this lineup that you almost expect it to be a hill country blues clinic, but really it turns out to be a funky southern blues rock album as much as anything else.

Over the years I’ve felt like the N. Mississippi Allstars and myself have been set off on divergent musical paths. I still buy their new albums, but after 5 or 10 listens they end up forgotten. Make A Move seems to possess that raw dirt under the fingernails energy that the first couple of N.M.A. albums had, and I for one am finding it to be Essential Listening.

Hill Country Revue is currently on the road doing festival dates and filling support slots throughout the summer. This Fall they are planning on heading out for a complete headlining tour and trust me, it’ll be worth catching.

Hill Country Revue – Alice Mae

Hill Country Revue’s Official Site, Hill Country Revue on myspace, Buy Make A Move

Older Entries Newer Entries