In one of the recent Dirt Underneath shows Patterson said they were playing some new tracks to see how they worked with the crowd. Basically throwing some songs against the wall and seeing what sticks. I figured I would offer my opinion on them. I have gone through the shows available on archive.org and pulled all the new songs I could see. If I missed one please tell me.

Ghost to Most - Another Cooley gem. I love this song. Much like Gravity’s Gone it almost seems like he reached into his bag of phrases, pulled out his favorites and assembled them into a song. It’s a Cooleyism 101 song and I think it is great and I really hope it makes it to the new cd.

Daddy Needs A Drink - This song surprised the hell out of me. When you really listen to the lyrics it is phenomenal. Probably Pattersons best effort since My Sweet Annette and definatly the best of the new songs they are currently playing out. There is no doubt in my mind that this track will be on the new cd.

After the Scene Dies - This one took a while to grow on me. Telling the story of the end of the music scene in anytown, usa. I wonder what this one sounds like played with electric instruments.

Bob - My first thought when I heard this one was…huh? I’ve grown to like it more over the past few weeks but I do not think it will make the new cd. It is a good enough song but in it’s current form it would never rank above filler material in my opinion.

Lisa’s Birthday - Nope. I do not like it one bit. Maybe electric it’s different but right now it seems like the Disney version of Love Like This. I hope this one gets left behind.

The Opening Act - I think this song will be awesome when it’s played at the rock show. Acoustically it is good but, to me, this song is begging to rock.

Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife - Written about the tragic New Years Day murder of a Richmond family as Patterson’s way of coming to terms with the events. It is a really pretty and sweet song. If I had to bet a dollar I would say you will hear this one on the new cd. I hope they keep it acoustic.

Check Out in Vegas - This song really surprised me. It kind of reminds me of Jason Isbell’s new song “Hurricanes and Hand Grenades” in the sense that it’s kind of a different sound than I’m used to from DBT. However, after listening to it a few times it has a lot of 70’s country to it. One of me top 3 of the new stuff I really hope to hear a studio version of this one.

One of These Days - Kind of a sad sounding song but I really like it. I wish my version did not have so much feedback. I dunno if this one will make the record or not. It is certainly strong enough to but it does not have anything really distinctive enough about it to make it stand out. (edit: this one is about as new as my underwear)

There you go. All in all I am excited to hear the new cd. After A Blessing and A Curse came out I was nervous for the band. It was so lacking in the rock. Now, I am excited again. Hopefully ABAAC was just a bump in the road.

While at the recent Weary Boys show I picked up a copy of the Weary Boys newest cd, “Coalinga”. Much like their live show, I was not sure what to expect with Mario gone. Well, The Weary Boys are just fucking fine. Matter a fact, one could say the Weary Boys are back. Now, I’m not gonna sit here and tell you that their last effort, “Jumpin’ Jolie”, was a bad album cause that simply is not the case. It just wasn’t as good as the four albums that proceeded it. Well, I am proud to say they turned the rock/surf down and the Weary back up. Matt Downing has filled Mario’s vocal spot in the band, his banjo replaces the electric guitar, and this immediately ups the country factor of The Weary Boys. Recorded and mixed by Weary fiddler Brian Salvi at his studio and self-released. This is a DIY disc that you need to obtain if you are a fan of traditional country music.

I wish I could tell you how to buy Coalinga but for now it seems like the only way to get it is to see them live. If they are coming to your part of the world (tour dates here) then you should go and see them. As good as their cds are, the live version is better. Every time. If they aren’t coming to your town then contact them via myspace and tell them ninebullets.net convinced you to buy their awesome new cd “Coalinga” and that they need to take your money.

Since there is barely any mention of this album at all on the internets I’ll give y’all the track listing:

1. Coalinga
2. Used to Be
3. Stranger
4. Jack of Diamonds
5. Sweet Blue Eyed Darlin’
6. Little Girl of Mine in Tennessee
7. Darlin’ Corey
8. Theme Time
9. Blue Yodel #4
10. Little Birdie
11. The Orange Blossom Special
12. The Last Stand of El Sorodo

The Weary Boys Official Site, The Weary Boys on myspace

Here is a review of the show that they played here in town last month that I never got around to posting:

The Rock Report - The Weary Boys @ New World (4/26)

Mario’s gone and the Weary Boys continue on. That is my take on the new Weary lineup. Last week while talking about the upcoming show I said, “I imagine it will be a tad awkward for the crowd at first, seeing as how most of them probably don’t know Mario has left the band yet.” That was pretty darn accurate. When they took the stage you could see the crowd start to put it all together and the scuttlebutt kicked up. This went on for about 5 songs before the crowd realized everything was fine, and then it just became a normal Weary show but with a banjo instead of an electric guitar. The remaining members of the band seemed to be much more engaged with the crowd than in previous visits, and Cary (the drummer) gets more mic time. Hell, the bassist even sang a song. They played a lot of songs from their new cd, which I bought, and by the end of the show everyone was clapping, dancing, singing along, and everything was right with the world. With the departure of Mario their underlying rock and roll is gone though. They are much more traditional now. As a friend of mine said during the show “They are a full on hillbilly band now.”

Indeed they are. They seem to be happier with it and that is all that matters. If you liked them before then fret not….you’ll like them now. It’s possible you’ll like them even more.

Autopsy Note: The following was written by my friend J. Barcode. Time will tell but he may become a regular contributor to the web site. This is his first effort for the site.

I’m aware that Blonde Redhead has been around for a while, but it wasn’t until listening to 23 that they captured my attention. It’s kinda sad I didn’t catch on sooner, but hey, better late than never. When I received the disc last week I wasn’t sure what to expect. On first listen, during my morning commute (a.k.a. uninterrupted new music listening time), I was so engulfed in the music from these indie rockers I wouldn’t have minded being stuck behind some fender-bender an extra half-hour. Kazu Makino’s vocals are lush and hypnotic like a mellifluous voice of a sultry woman whispering in your ear. The music is very sensual but has a hazy feel to it, not like that of a DIY garage recording, but like that of an 80’s dream pop band with their lulling guitars and eerie atmospheric synths.

The trio have come a long way since their start 14 years ago when they caught the attention of Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth’s drummer), who produced and released their debut self-titled album. After two releases on Shelley’s Smells Like Records, they went off to Chicago based Touch And Go where they released Fake Can Be Just As Good, In an Expression of the Inexpressible, and Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons. For the recording of their 6th album, Misery Is A Butterfly, they decided to part ways with Touch And Go and finance the album themselves. This changed in 2003 when they were signed by the legendary UK record label 4AD. Misery Is A Butterfly was then released in 2004 to critical praise. Did I mention how flippin’ cool it would be to have label-mates like the Pixies, Cocteau Twins, and Lush? Pretty damn cool if you ask me.

Now fast forward to 2007 and their latest opus, 23. “We felt we’d been recording and playing long enough, that it was time to make an album on our own,” remarks Simone, of their decision to self-produce 23. Kazu admits that it “wasn’t an entirely enjoyable experience. Without a producer, a “referee”, we could really get on each other’s cases. It got intense.”

“We were very focused on doing something we hadn’t done before,” agrees Amedeo. “But until we got to the mixing stage, we weren’t sure what direction the album was taking at all. You have to have faith. You also have to really think about what you’re doing; sometimes things happen by accident, and that’s great, but most of the time you really have to work at it.”

“This album is almost like all my fantasies and desires, all the feelings I had, were made real somehow,” reflects Kazu, “I feel very lucky”. Which might explain the number 23 for the album title. It’s Kazu’s lucky number.

One thing is for certain, it’s evident that they veered away from their No Wave and Sonic Youth emulative comparisons. The title-track, “The Dress” and “Spring And By Summer Fall” are my favorites off the album. “23″ with its subtle pitch blends and layered soprano chorus. “The Dress”; a down-tempo track with breathy vocals, spine-tingling synths and lyrics of heartache. “Spring And By Summer Fall”; more of a buoyant track musically but with howling synths that move through the song like a strong wind and intertwine with the droning guitar riffs.

As a club disc jockey, I always get the, “hey! what’s good nowadays?” at least once every couple weeks. Eventually, you learn that you can only say so much about new music you’re digging when drunken attention spans are short and the “boots boots boots” of cheesy pop songs are being hammered over the p.a., which is why I’m attempting to write a blurb about this album and convey my pleasure about this tasty morsel of musical goodness. I will admit. It’s definitely not something for everyone, but its spellbinding grasp on me is what got this poor sap yammering it up with friends.

Blonde Redhead is: Kazu Makino - vocals & guitars, Amedeo Pace - vocals & guitars & Simone Pace - drums. The album, 23, is in stores April 10th here and on April 16th in the UK on 4AD records.

Tracklisting:

1. 23
2. Dr Strangeluv
3. The Dress
4. SW
5. Spring And By Summer Fall
6. Silently
7. Publisher
8. Heroine
9. Top Ranking
10. My Impure Hai

Blonde Redhead’s Official Site, Blonde Redhead on myspace, Buy the new cd 23

Truckstop Coffee serves up a breed of alt.country/southern rock with songs about whiskey, women, heartache, and interstate highways. Their sound is probably best compared to fellow whiskey, women and heartache stalwarts Lucero or The Drive-by Truckers. Hailing from Lake Worth, FL, Truckstop Coffee is Pete Stein, Caleb James, Nick Orow and Venny Portalatin.

In December of 2006 they released thier debut LP (a 5 song EP was released in 2004), One Damn Thing to Redeem. Partially recorded in South Florida and part in Knoxville, Tennessee. The cd opens up with a barn burner and possibly the best track on the cd, Way Down South, which is followed by Pretty Lil’ Smile, a fantastic song that sounds like it could turn up on the next Lucero disc. The cd then downshifts and cranks up the pedal steel for Madison County a fond recollection of someone’s hometown. There are stories of lost farms, lost women, and memories made sweeter with whiskey. The cd closes with a track about something I am probably way too familiar with, Whiskey Shivers, a song about trying to get out of a town you’ve become to comfortable in. Whiskey Shivers also contains my favorite lines on the entire album:

“Whiskey bottle never got anybody very far / But it’s hard to leave town when you can walk to the bar / and take your old familiar place / You’re an old familiar face”.

Ain’t that the truth.

Although, I worry that the “whiskey soaked heartbroken miles on a midnight highway” sound might be so dominated that they may have a hard time getting noticed outside of the local market, but with over 100 shows under their belt, a gig as openers for Brooks and Dunn, and having earned the title “Best Country Band — 2005” by Florida’s Citylink Magazine would suggest otherwise.

Truckstop Coffee - Way Down South
Truckstop Coffee - Pretty Lil Smile
Truckstop Coffee - A Little Too Close

Truckstop Coffee’s Official Site, Truckstop Coffee on myspace, Buy One Damn Thing To Redeem

Two Cow Garage is a band I can root for… three completely awesome guys who write completely awesome rock music and play it with everything in them, regardless of the size of the crowd behind the monitors. If you can’t get behind that, then I dunno why you would even bother to read this backwoods corner of the internets.

Back in December I named Three as one of my most anticipated albums of 2007, so when it leaked to the internet I couldn’t resist the download temptation⁽¹⁾. I am happy to report my anticipation did not turn to disappointment … quite the contrary: this CD makes a beeline for my essential listening list.The signature Two Cow rock sound is in there: still brash, still loud, still walking the tight-wire between punk and alt.country . With this album, the band shows a maturity or perhaps a jadedness that the previous two did not. Yes, there are still the signature “growing up in a hick town and girl that got away” songs on the disc. Yes, they are fantastic. Shane’s growl on “Blaket Grey” and Micha’s story line in “Arson” are great, but there is a new element of wisdom in this CD. Seems to me there have been a lot of dusty miles, missed rent payments, strained relationships and “Am I doing the right thing?” contemplation between the previous The Wall Against Our Backs and this new CD, Three.

�The band’s apparent ’seasoning’ seems to have added just the right amount of a jaded temperament to their songs to really push them over the top; and my favorite tracks from the disc reflect it. “Postcards and Apologies” delves into how easily one can become a self-centered prick when there isn’t anyone around willing to call you out. “Should’ve California”, my current fave track, has Micah wondering about the things that could have been, had he chosen a different path in life … instead of “wasting all of his time in these basement bars in this rock and roll band”. His angst comes to a head in “No Shame”, when Micah laments that “things have never been worse”… a line you can imagine being written over a bowl aramen noodles while his current girlfriend is bitching about his constant absence. While he is right, there is no shame in just giving up and walking away. As a fan, I would have to say it would be a shame.

Two Cow has all the makings of a great band. I don’t feel I am typing hyperbole when I say they have the talent and band chemistry to be the next Drive By Truckers or Lucero. They made it through all the questions and doubts that turned into Three with “600 pages of regrets and hundreds unfinished songs” and 13 finished tracks with regrets of their own… regrets that you should hear. The new CD is set to be released on April 24th via Suburban Home Records. Till then, check out the track below, or go stream the entire CD over on their website.

Two Cow Garage - Blaket Grey

Two Cow Garage’s Official Site, Two Cow Garage on myspace, Pre-order Two Cow Garage - Three

⁽¹⁾At this moment allow me to say something: As a rule, I support the notion of downloading, and do it from time to time. I never judge others for using their local p2p application instead of supporting a bloated record label that is just as happy suing you, raping internet radio and fucking their own consumer base. There are plenty ways of supporting bands and I tend to use the “go to shows and buy shit there” method. However, there are plenty of bands out there trying to get shit done with out the dick of a mafRIAA member in their ass …. Two Cow is one such band. The CD is out there and anyone with an ounce of knowledge can get it in 10 minutes, and if you do that’s awesome …. listen to it. BUT, If you like it … do your part when it comes out in April…and buy it. All of your dollars will be going right to the band … which will go right into their gas tank, and if you are lucky one of your dollars will bring them to your town, and then you can witness a rock show of epic proportions.

This cd goes straight to the Essential Listening list!

A lot of the people I hang around with have lost interest in Clutch. They contend the band has lost its edge. I am not of that camp. I believe that Clutch fully realized their potential with 2004’s Blast Tyrant and rate Blast Tyrant, Robot Hive: Exodus and their newest effort From Beale Street to Oblivion (March 27 release) as the three best albums of their career. With Beale Street, Clutch finally stops flirting with the bluesy Southern rock sound, and embraces it fully.

Neil Fallon’s trademark deep voice is as preacher-like as ever, and his lyrical pen has not dulled one bit. Personally, I think his humor really shines through on “When Vegans Attack”. As an aside: is it me or does the opening guitar riff sound like “Lil’ Devil” from The Cult album Electric?

Beale Street leaked to the internets waaaaaayyyyy back in February, so I was able to listen to it every day I was on my recent ski trip. I constantly found myself asking: “Is this Clutch’s best album ever?” It might just be. Beale Street is definitely their most consistent effort from start to finish. They way they have embraced blues riffs and blues keys … I have to say “yes”, despite the haterade of my friends. I love this fucking CD. There is zero doubt that I am adding it to my essential listening list. Starting right now Beale Street is not only my favorite album of Clutch’s fifteen year career, so far, it is my favorite album of 2007. Do yourself a favor: If you are a fan of …. oh, just get the album!

I recently got to see Clutch live for the first time ever @ The State Theater in downtown St. Petersburg. I wasn’t really a Clutch fan until Blast Tyrant came along, so I passed on a number of opportunities to see them previously. Sidenote #2: I have had tickets to shows that were cancelled due to hurricanes before… welcome to Florida I guess.

I wish I could tell you all kinds of things about their show, but I can’t. See, the show was at a venue I can walk to, and stumble from. Bad News. The whiskey poured *really* freely at the 5th Street compound before the show, so most of the details are, as you might imagine … lost.

I can tell you I pretty much loved it.

I’m not a head banger due to the simple fact that I keep the dome shaved … so in lieu of banging the head I stomp my foot. My heel hurt for days after that show. If I qualified as professional reporter I wouldn’t get that trashed before a show, but I ain’t. I am a professional drunk who happens to love good music and has a web site so sometimes you get the “great show, but can’t remember shit” review.

Clutch - Power Player
Clutch - The Devil and Me
Clutch - Electric Worry

Clutch Official Site; Clutch on MySpace; Buy Clutch’s new CD: From Beale Street to Oblivion

“This is music wrought from blood and bone, concrete and steel, an inner-city voodoo for the disposed and forgotten.”
Originally championed by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Chicken Legs Weaver is Andy Weaver, Jane Howden and Mik Glaisher. The Band hails from Sheffield but writes a breed of music that could easily come from the delta of the Mississippi. The band has built a following across the UK opening for act as from all genres, including: The Buzzcocks, Electric 6, Hammel on Trail and 16 Horsepower. Chicken Legs Weaver hope their deubt CD Nowhere will fall on willing ears on our side of the pond.Andy Weaver employs a growl reminiscent of Howling Wolf or Tom Waits, which is distracting at first to say the least. If you are willing to let that low rumble grow on you, you’ll find it fitting for the slow, menacing moodiness that Chicken Legs Weaver serves up. By the time you begin to learn the words you can’t imagine any other style vocals over these songs.

Nowhere, their debut album, was produced by none other than Johnny Dowd, a man I referred to as the “Bad Santa of the blues” on this here web site. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got the CD, but with Johnny Dowd attached to the project I knew it was not gonna be a straight forward blues album. Dark as a new moon midnight, some times punk, sometimes gospel, some times blues and always primal, the CD does not disappoint.

Chicken Legs Weaver - Howling Road
Chicken Legs Weaver - Your Enemy Can Not Harm You
Chicken Legs Weaver - Paper House

Chicken Legs Weaver on MySpace, Buy the Chicken Legs Weaver CD

I have to thank Dan Auerbach(The Black Keys ),and if you are a fan of that bluesy garage rock sound currently being popularized by The Black Keys, then you need to thank him as well. Frontman Parker Griggs gave Dan a copy of the Radio Moscow demo after a Black Keys show in Colorado, and Dan liked it so much that he called Parker up and offered to produce their debut cd in his Akron, Ohio base me…..ERRRR…studio. Dan also took it a step further, leaning on former Black Keys home, Alive Records, to sign the band.

Over the years, there has been constant turnover in the band, and Radio Moscow is, for all extensive purposes, Parker Griggs. He is the guitarist/drummer/singer/songwriter on the debut cd. The current touring lineup is Parker on guitar and vocals, Keith Rich as drummer, and Zach Anderson on bass. Parker claims this is the most dedicated and tightest line-up to date.

The self-titled debut is 10 tracks of “garage punk filtered through the blues, with“. What does all that mean? I am not entirely sure but I like the way it reads. In my own words, I would have to say Radio Moscow’s debut cd is electric guitar fueled blues rock that can find a groove and ride it so hard it’ll scar your speakers. Think Wolfmother meets The Black Keys, and you’ll probably have the worst analogy in the history of music reviews, but I’m gonna use the fucker. For real though, this is a cd that forces you to stomp your feet and play air guitar from the second the opening bass solo of “Frustrating Sound”starts.

Radio Moscow will be bringing their monster sound and heavy grooves to The New World Brewery on April 20, thanks to the fine folks over at aespresents. Something tells me the guys will put on an early contender for show of the year. I’ll be there, beer buzz intact and you can bet your ass I’ll be wearing my foot stomping shoes.

Radio Moscow - Frustrating Sound
Radio Moscow - Deep Blue Sea
Radio Moscow - Whatever Happened

Radio Moscow’s myspace site, Radio Moscow on Alive Records, Buy Radio Moscow’s debut cd

From the bitter lament of the rail worker in Spike Driving Blues to the battling lovers of Back Water Blues to the high school sweetheart turned murderer of Rita’s Only Fault these were the first glimpses into Chris’s unapologetic style of telling the stories of the blue collar man.

Back in October I wrote about Chris Knight’s cd Enough Rope. I had never heard anything by him at that time and have since fell in love with the cd. A couple of moths ago I saw that he was scheduled to release a new cd, The Trailer Tapes, so I fired off an email to his PR company asking for an advance copy.

The Trailer Tapes was recorded one Kentucky summer in 1996 inside of a singlewide trailer by a recently signed but unknown Chris Knight. Recorded with 2 microphones and an ADAT with the guitar bumping into the mics and rain beating on the trailer roof-top, it was primitive, but above all it was real. Since then it has been cleaned up by producer/engineer Ray Kennedy and now they find their way into our hands. Three of the 11 tracks were rerecorded and found their way onto other albums over the years but the remainder are otherwise unreleased.

So here I am. I have Chris’s latest album and I love it. I have his, for all practical purposes, original demo from 11 years ago and I love it. I guess the only thing left to do is start filling in the gap between the two cds so expect to see other Chris Knight articles throughout this year.

The Trailer Tapes will be released April 3 on Drifter’s Church Records. Chris will also be touring acoustically behind these songs. Tour dates can be found on his website.

Chris Knight - Rita’s Only Fault
Chris Knight - House and 90 Acres
Chris Knight - Spike Driving Blues

Chris Knight’s Official Site, Chris Knight on myspace, Buy Chis Knight’s cds

Add another to the Essential Listening list!

Gill Landry’s solo debut, “The Ballad of Lawless Soirez” reminds me of the soundtrack for a lost Quentin Tarantino film while the cover art reminds me of some Dick Tracy or Harlem Nights poster art. The Ballad of Lawless Soirez is one of those cds that I liked the moment I heard it, and it has done nothing but grow on me with each subsequent listen. While this may be Gill’s solo debut, the fella has been on the scene for quite some time. Having released six cds with the New Orleans jug band The Kitchen Syncopators (who’s records through the band’s web site), he’s also played banjo and steel guitar for Old Crow Medicine Show. Featuring a mixture old country blues, jazz and songster music of the 20’s and 30’s, and Gill’s voice….and oh what a voice, makes this the perfect cd for a quite night with a warm glass of whiskey and a little sweat. Take a gander at the samples and get your hands on this cd by what ever means you prefer.

Gill Landry - Poor Boy
Gill Landry - Lawless Soirez
Gill Landry - Dixie

Gill Landry’s Official Site, Gill Landry on Myspace, Buy Gill Landry’s cd