The rains made the night less than hospitable but those of us that made it out were treated to some wonderful music. We arrived just as Knoxville’s Matt Woods was wrapping up his set, so I immediately hit the bar for some social lubrication. Two Red Seal Ales into the night The Most Beautiful Losers took the stage. I’ve had their CD in my computer room for a few months now, but I’ve not managed to give it a listen. Live, they’re loud, rough and everything rock n’ roll is supposed to be. Watching them play made me want, nay, need whiskey and the moment their set was complete, I made the rain hindered-sprint over to Fuma Bella’s to quell the monster with a few shots before Will Quinlan took the stage. Seems great minds think alike as the bulk of Truckstop Coffee, Matt Woods and no shortage of show attendees were doing the same thing.

One thing is for sure — when Will Quinlan is on, there are few better and this past  night, Will was as on as I’ve seen him in quite some time. Joining Will on stage was his regular drummer Jesse Martin, Have Gun Will Travel guitarist Scott Anderson and Truckstop Coffee bassist, James (Bob) Hershberger. At some point during Will’s set, I tweeted (or Facebooked) a picture of Will with the text, “Will Quinlan, if you don’t know, ask me tomorrow.” I think it was best summed up by Larry (Truckstop’s drummer) when Will started playing the opening of “Beatitudes.” I leaned over to Larry, telling him how much I loved the song and he said, “I know! I can’t believe I know the guy who wrote it.” Will Quinlan is a rare treat and we’re lucky to have him, so seriously, if you don’t know … ask me about him or go check out his Myspace.

Will Quinlan – Beatitudes
Will Quinlan – Acrimony Blues

This could have easily been called the Truckstop Coffee CD release party, Take 2. See, the band came to town a few months back for their official CD release show but the road had chewed them up pretty good by the time they got to Tampa (read here) and the show ended up being a Pete Stein solo set. This time around, all the band members were present and the rock was brought. Unfortunately much of the crowd had filtered out or were hanging inside for Truckstop’s set but those that continued to brave the lingering humidity were greeted to a highly energetic show comprised mostly of songs from TC’s new album, For Dear Life.

Highlights (for me) were my two favorite songs from the new album, “Laredo Skies” and “Ghost or an Angel” as well as a full band version of “Fly Far Blackbird,” the standout track from Pete’s solo album. By the end of the night everyone, including the band, was lubed enough to make the crowd-to-band banter alone worth the price of admission.

Truckstop Coffee – Laredo Skies
Truckstop Coffee – Ballad of Joel Carpenter

In all, it was another night that served as a huge reminder that Florida is currently flush with amazing musical talent we should be supporting in full, and you can all start with the January 30 all-Florida bill featuring The Takers, Greenland is Melting and Nessie at New World Brewery. Come be a part of it.

For more pictures from this show or others, head over to James Zambon’s site.

Well, I guess it’s my turn. Kasey and RSV have already dropped their faves of the year (here and here) on y’all, so there’s just no avoiding it for me now. This year was particularly difficult due to the sheer amount of great music that came out, and had I made this list tomorrow it would certainly change. That said, you can edit forever but eventually you have to settle on something and call it your list. So, with out further ado I am gonna steal RSV’s formatting and get this show on the road:

20. Eilen Jewell – Sea of Tears
19. Those Darlins – Those Darlins
18. Strawfoot – How We Prospered
17. Justin Townes Earl – Midnight at The Movies
16. Malcolm Holcombe – For The Mission Baby
15. Jon Snodgrass – Visitor’s Band
14. Ben Nichols – The Last Pale Light In The West
13. Cam Penner – Trouble and Mercy
12. The Fox Hunt – America’s Working So We Don’t Have To
11. William Elliott Whitmore – Animals In The Dark

Top 10 (with mp3s) are under the cut…

(more…)

Some reviews are tough to write because you like the record but seriously dislike the people in the band, others are tough to write because you love the album but just can’t think of anything to say about it beyond that simple fact that you love it, and then there are reviews such as this one…

Complete disclosure, I like Truckstop Coffee as people. I sent the cd to other blogs in hopes to help them get some added press and I’ve even helped hook them up with a booking agent. If those facts are going to bother you whilst reading about this album, I suggest you just skip to the bottom, listen to the songs and to hell with my typing.

Okay, for the remaining folks, yes, I consider Pete, Caleb and Larry friends, but I also consider them a terrific band. I first heard of them back in 2006 in the infancy of ninebullets. At the time they were doing a pretty good Lucero-meets-the Drive-By Trucker’s impression in support of their debut cd, One Damn Thing To Redeem. Throughout the years they’ve made it up Tampa way a couple or four times, but rarely have they strayed from the tracklisting of that first album. There were rumors of a new album one day, but, as any struggling musician knows, recording, mixing and mastering an album requires money and there ain’t much of that coming in from playing little bars and backyard parties. Eventually there was a self-recorded acoustic album of Pete solo and I just assumed the eventual next release, For Dear Life, would just be full band arrangements of some of the songs on that.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Nope. My first exposure to some of the songs from For Dear Life came during the Citrus Circuit Tour earlier this year and the first thing that struck me was how much the rock element overshadowed the twang that their sound had been so focused on earlier. It was exciting and awesome. After the show I asked them about it and they blamed/credited their new bassist, Bob, for the change. That change in their live cd has certainly carried over into the new cd as well. Even though they’re starting to move away from the Lucero-esqe country sounds of their previous album and more towards the twang-tinged straightforward rock ‘n’ roll sound of, say, Two Cow Garage, they haven’t abandoned the sound entirely.  You can witness this best in songs like “16 Ounces” and “The Ballad of Joel Carpenter”, but the album (band?) is at its best when they’re dancing inside this new expanded country-blues-rock sound of theirs with tracks like “Ghost Or An Angel” and “I-3″. And when the band fully embraces the new sound, as seen in “Costume” and “Laredo Skies”, I feel vindicated for all of the support I’ve thrown at these guys over the years.

For Dear Life is a lot of things. It’s the best album the band has made to date. It’s probably gonna be the best local release of the year. It’s easily a late-year entry onto the ninebullets essential listening list and will probably end up on my top 10 of the year list. It’s also available for whatever you feel like paying for it. So, check out the songs below and then throw a few dollars at the band and get a copy of it for yourself.

Truckstop Coffee – Ghost Or An Angel
Truckstop Coffee – Costume
Truckstop Coffee – Laredo Skies

Truckstop Coffee’s Official Site, Truckstop Coffee on myspace, Buy For Dear Life

Oh, Tampa/St. Pete. Please, please, please don’t let me down. The DJ and his records and that theme night at [insert club here] will all be there next weekend, and every monotonous weekend thereafter, but Truckstop Coffee and Joe Buck are only gonna be here this weekend. Get out and see a show…

TRUCKSTOP COFFEE @ NEW WORLD BREWERY, YBOR CITY

One of the bands routinely championed on ninebullets.net and on the podcast is Lake Worth’s Truckstop Coffee (pictured above, photo by elawgrrl). Saturday night they’ll be at New World Brewery celebrating the release of their excellent new CD, For Dear Life. The album has been out for a couple of weeks now, and if I hadn’t been such a lazy bastard lately, there would already be a glowing review of it posted here for me to link to, but if you like your rock ‘n’ roll in the vein of Two Cow Garage and Lucero, you’ll dig the band.  If you wanna maximize your drunken sing-along opportunities, then head on over to their site, buy a digital copy of the album and listen to it nonstop from now until Saturday night (it’s offered on a pay-what-you-want basis). Then we’ll all raise a glass and sing them old sad songs together whilst buying lots of merchandise and supporting our Florida-grown talents.

The band has been running around the Southeast for the past couple of weeks in support of For Dear Life, and apparently the road decided to bite back. Larry, the drummer, fell head first into a campfire, which resulted in a couple of nights in a Georgia burn unit (for his hand, not his head). Bob, the bassist, managed to break a rib, and then Caleb and Pete witnessed a truck flipping on the interstate at 70 mph. In other words, the band could really use some support right now. I’m hoping you guys will come through.

Truckstop Coffee – Ghost Or An Angel
Truckstop Coffee – Laredo Skies

JOE BUCK @ THE EMERALD, DOWNTOWN ST. PETERSBURG

Some of you live on the other side of the water than New World (like myself) and don’t wanna drive across the bridge, drink beer and then have to drive back. I get that and it’s a valid reason to stay home. Normally. But this Saturday we’re blessed with shows on both sides of the Bay, ’cause the devil that is Joe Buck (former Hank III bassist) is back in town and will be preaching his tales of murder and Satan at The Emerald. I think this will be a much improved venue for Joe from the Dave’s Aqua Lounge shows of past. I think that getting him off that stage and down on the floor and into the mix will work wonders for his show. Trust me, I think you’ll enjoy Buck’s performance and The Emerald is the perfect place to see it.

Joe Buck – Devil Is On His Way
Joe Buck – Evil Motherfucker From Tennessee

So there you go. Two awesome shows, one on each side of the water, no fucking excuses. Come out, watch a rock show and drink beer with regular people…no Axe Body Spray or bedazzled Ed Hardy shirts required.

As any regular reader here knows, there are certain bands I champion on ninebullets.net and long before I knew the guys in Truckstop Coffee personally they were one of them….and they still are.

Admittedly, I have not heard the whole album yet (it’s currently playing) but from what I’ve heard/seen of the new album at their live shows they’ve started to move away from the Lucero-esqe country sound of their previous album and towards a more twang tinged straight forward rock sound (ala say: Two Cow Garage).

Anyhow, they officially released their new album, For Dear Life, today. In an effort to get the album heard by as many folks as possible they’re offering an .mp3 download of the album on a pay what you want platform. Personally, I paid 10 for it and so far, it’s worth it.

Check it out. Buy it. Tell me what you think of it.

Truckstop Coffee – Ghost or an Angel (from the new album, For Dear Life)

In celebration of the album release Truckstop Coffee will be embarking on a small tour. Here are the dates:

EDIT: I forgot to mention for you Tampa/St. Pete folks. Truckstop will also be bringing the rock show to New World on Sept. 19th.

I swear to god. One of my personal missions with ninebullets.net is to make the whole world like Truckstop Coffee as much as I do. In keeping with that goal I am presenting y’all with “Laredo Skies” from their upcoming album, For Dear Life. It was recorded live at Propaganda.

Listen to it and love it or I’ll search you down and kick you in the shins.

Another track from the new cd:

Truckstop Coffee – Ghost or an Angel

You know what they say, “when it rains, it pours”, and such is the case next week with three shows in four days. While I don’t expect anyone else to adhere to such a rigorous schedule I do think you could find something you like in one (or more) of these shows. If you do make it out to any, find me and we’ll tell fish tales over a beer.

WEDNESDAY 6/24 @ THE RITZ: GRAYSON CAPPS

I am so excited about this show. Honestly, I just assumed Grayson Capps would never come to Florida. BUT! Here he is and he’s bringing his full band, The Stumppknocker’s, with him.  If the sound of Southern soul mixed with back-country stomp with a little road-house blues sounds like something that might tickle your fancy, you need to get to The Ritz on Thurday night for this show.

When I last wrote about Grayson I said, “I find myself drawn to the drunks, whores and vagabonds that haunt Grayson’s songs. They’re like old friends you keep up with via letters in the mail, and with a new album comes new updates.” It’ll be nice to finally meet this motley crew of characters in person.

Grayson Capps – Going Back To The Country
Grayson Capps – Ike
Grayson Capps – Mermaid
Grayson Capps – Junior & The Old African Queen

THURSDAY 6/25 @ NEW WORLD BREWERY: CORY BRANAN, JOEY CAPE & JON SNODGRASS

The following night, Joey Cape (Ladwagon/Me First & The Gimmie Gimmies), Jon Snodgrass (Drag The River/Arm Chair Martian) and Cory Branan will be playing New World Brewery. All three of these guys have crossed paths and shared stages at various times in their careers, but this is the first time all three have played together. This tour was engineered by Jon (and booked by the fine folks at AES Presents) and, as I understand, it will mimic The Revival Tour where the artists will all share the stage. Should make for a fun show.

Cory Branan – The Prettiest Waitress in Memphis
Joey Cape – Errands
Jon Snodgrass – Brave With Strangers
Cory Branan & Jon Snodgrass – Wild One (Thin Lizzy Cover)

SATURDAY 6/27 @ NEW WORLD BREWEY: THE CITRUS CIRCUIT TOUR with LAURIS VIDAL, TRUCKSTOP COFFEE, HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL & THE TAKERS

After giving the liver a brief break on Friday, the musical week plans to knock us out with a right hook powered by another all-Florida band lineup brought to us by thxmgmt. This is the second all-Florida band mini-tour thxmgmt has done this month. Like the last, the idea is to get a collection of Florida bands together who can pull within their own markets and put them all on the road together with the “home band” headlining their respective market. This time we’re getting Tampa’s own Have Gun Will Travel, Lauris Vidal (Daytona Beach), Truckstop Coffee (Lake Worth) and the latest Suburban Home Records signee, Gainesville’s own The Takers.

To say this is a must-see show is a complete understatement. Everyone in the Bay Area should know how good HGWT is at this point (and if you don’t then shame on you), and the amount of love ninebullets has shown Truckstop Coffee over the years is still pitifully inadequate. In addition, I’ll finally get to see the *much hyped* honky-tonk outfit The Takers.

This will be one of the best nights of music of the year and it’s all homegrown. In addition, it’s a Saturday night so there’s no reason not to go.

Lauris Vidal – Good Years, Dark Clouds
Truckstop Coffee -Way Down South
Have Gun Will Travel -Blessing And A Curse
The Takers – Taker Easy

Since I originally wrote about these guys back in ninebullets.net’s infancy I’ve gotten to actually know the band and, much like I’ve said about Two Cow Garage back in the day, I can say that Truckstop Coffee is the kind of band I can get behind. They are four completely awesome people who make awesome music together.  They come out of Lake Worth, Florida and they make music that falls under the same umbrella which houses Lucero and Drag The River. Currently they are the process of trying to record and release a full-band follow-up to their 2006 debut, One Damn Thing To Redeem, but in the meantime Pete (singer) has released an acoustic beauty called Fly Far Blackbird.

Fly Far Blackbird is billed as drunk dialing music and after listening to the album a couple of times, I wonder if it’s drunk dialing music for us or if it’s drunk dialing for them. Either way, the album will certainly foot the bill. This is one of this mood albums, and I don’t mean you need to be in the mood to hear it. No, instead it’s one of those albums that will put you in a mood. One of those ‘I wanna sit alone in the dark and drink a few whiskeys neat while I contemplate my failures’ kind of moods. Personally, I love music that gets that reaction from me. Maybe I’m a masochist.

While Fly Far Blackbird may have been recorded solo during a Florida thunderstorm, I am hoping some of these songs will find themselves getting the full band effort on their next album, For Dear Life. While we’re on the subject of hoping, I hope For Dear Life sees a release date in 2009. And while we’re still on this whole hoping and wishing thing, I wish upon a star that it gets released on the Suburban Home label….Virgil?

Truckstop Coffee – Blackbird
Truckstop Coffee – Colorado
Truckstop Coffee – Blinking Star

Truckstop Coffee’s Official Site, Truckstop Coffee (acoustic) on myspace, Buy Fly Far Blackbird

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