July 2008

Grayson Capps was conceived in the backseat of a Pontiac and born to the son of a preacher in Alabama. In his bio, he says “I write songs which have the voice of dead prophets masquerading as town drunks screaming ‘look at us we’re pretty, too!’” Grayson Capps is part country singer, part bluesman, part preacher, part vagabond and part poet.

The album starts off with “Going Back To The Country” and right away I knew I was in for a treat.  It’s a song about being far away from home performing relentlessly, surrounded by booze and whores, with the “devil always at your door, knockin’ at you.”  Capps longs to get back to Alabama where life’s simple pleasures, “eating cornbread and raising hell,” await him with a warm embrace. A closer look at his bio, however, reveals that he now resides in New Orleans. It looks like going home might just mean more whores and booze.

From there, Rott ‘N’ Roll progresses through thirteen songs that alternate between slow burning ballads like “The Waltz” and back-porch blues jams like “Big Black Buzzard.” If you were a fan of his previous effort, Songbones, then you’ll appreciate the slide guitar and laid back acoustic tracks. But on Rott ‘N’ Roll it’s the rocking electric blues numbers, backed by a full band, that will get your foot stomping.

You can hear more tracks on his MySpace page.  I’ve never met him, but Grayson Capps just seems like a stranger that you’d like to swap stories with at a bar. I have a feeling he can spin a yarn.

Website | MySpace

Grayson Capps -  Going Back To The Country

From his previous album, Songbones:

Grayson Capps - I Can’t Hear You

Remember that old Saturday Night Live where Chris Farley is playing motivational speaker Matt Foley? At one point during the skit, he lifts his glasses up and down on his face and says, “I can’t see real good…Is that Bill Shakespeare over there?” I did the same thing when Charleston, SC septet The Explorers Club came through Shirk’s studio for a live session a few weeks ago, except I was wearing sunglasses and I thought I was seeing The Beach Boys. I love The Beach Boys.

I’m a sucker for happy tunes that make you bob your head from side-to-side – ear to shoulder, ear to shoulder. The Explorers Club makes me perform this move uncontrollably and without refrain. They play the type of music that makes me want to coat my nose with zinc oxide sunscreen, play a few hours of Pro Kadima, and shotgun a can of Sunkist.

I walked into the studio to meet Woody and Shirk just before the guys from The Explorers Club showed up, not real familiar with their sound. Shirk had 5 microphones set up, and I thought there was a chance Woody and I may join in for some harmonizing. My dreams were dashed when I found out 5 of the 7 guys in the band actually sing, creating beautiful harmonies that give The Explorers Club its signature sound. Lead singer Jason Brewer has a syrupy, Brian Wilson-like voice that flows over the wall of sound that the rest of the band creates. It’s a thing of beauty to hear the voices and bevy of guitars come together to form their bright, full sound.

With songs like “Hold Me Tight,” “Lost My Head,” “If You Go,” “Don’t Forget the Sun,” and “Forever,” you’d think you found a Delorean and drove it 88mph to California and arrived in 1966. The raw, stripped down versions of these songs feel as pure as the golden sand. So go ahead, download the tracks below. Turn up your heat to about 89 degrees, throw on your board shorts, make yourself a Tang and vodka, put a DVR’d episode of “The Wonder Years” on mute, and crank up The Explorers Club.

Exclusive: The Explorers Club - Forever

Exclusive: The Explorers Club - Don’t Forget The Sun

Exclusive: The Explorers Club - If You Go

Exclusive: The Explorers Club - Lost My Head

Exclusive: The Explorers Club - Hold Me Tight

Coming up next: Samantha Crain, Leatherbag, and Danny Malone.

Kings of Leon’s new album Only By The Night will be released on September 23rd, but you can download “Crawl” today.  Visit the Kings of Leon website to get the track.

You can also preview the new Kings of Leon sounds in the video below.

I listened to the first track on Cabin Ghosts by Appleton Wisconsin’s own Cory Chisel and The Wandering Sons and immediately knew it was my cup of tea. I heard the first verse on “Lovers and Friends” and was instantly reminded of Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies. Corey’s voice has a similar bluesy, soulful sound like Mike Ferris.

Cory Chisel’s six song EP is a short appetizer and I’m looking forward to a full-length album. Cabin Ghosts has some song gems, tinged with gospel, blues, and lyrical honesty. If you’re a fan of Americana, Cory Chisel is a name to keep on your radar. You won’t find a weak spot on this EP.

Website | MySpace

Cory Chisel and The Wandering Sons - Home In The Woods

Here at the tracks we discussed last week.

The Avett Brothers - Murder in the City

The Morning Benders - Crying (Roy Orbison)

The Morning Benders - Mother and Child Reunion (Paul Simon)

The Morning Benders - Dreams (Fleetwood Mac)

Calexico - Two Silver Trees

Dr. Dog - The Ark

Dr. Dog - The Old Days

Bowery Boy Blue - Come Closer, Sisters

Bowery Boy Blue - Great Dead Town

Bowery Boy Blue - Ah, What a Cruel Change

From our Morning Benders studio session:

Exclusive: The Morning Benders - Why Don’t They Let Us Fall In Love

Exclusive: The Morning Benders - Last Today

Exclusive: The Morning Benders - Damnit Anna

Exclusive: The Morning Benders - Waiting On A War

From the inbox…

Kuroma - Alexander Martin

Jeff Hanson - If I Only Knew

Women - Black Rice

Women - Group Transport Hall

CSS - Rat Is Dead (Rage)

Oxford Collapse - The Birthday Wars

Has anyone seen the new Corona commercial starring Kenny Chesney? Well it’s out there and it’s got my underpants in an uncomfortable bunch. I’ve spent quite a few sunny days drinking Corona, my “vacation beer” of choice, and always regarded it as a real treat for those outdoor drinking days.

That was until I saw Corona’s new commercial featuring huge nerd Kenny Chesney. The commercial didn’t even run all the way through until I rose from the couch and proclaimed, “I’m swearing off Corona…FOR LIFE!” You think I’m joking.  This actually happened. And I meant it. I will never drink another Corona for as long as I live. I simply can’t support a product that sponsors Kenny Chesney, quite possibly the biggest juicebag in music. Why don’t I like Kenny Chesney? Let me count the ways…

1. Chesney rarely writes his own songs – one of my biggest pet peeves. He didn’t write any of the songs on his latest album. He has had a whopping 14 number one singles, but 13 of those songs were written by someone else. He only wrote one of his number one singles outright, and received partial writing credit on two more.
2. Chesney refuses to wear sleeves – another pet peeve. Nothing screams “d-bag” louder than a walk-in closet filled with sleeveless shirts.
3. Followup to #2…according to cbsnews.com, Chesney is “barely 5’6” tall, weighs just 143 pounds and is balding to boot.” Where I come from, you don’t wear sleeveless shirts if 90% of the human race can beat you up.
4. He married upper-crust ugly, crazy-eyed Renee Zellweger, who divorced him 4 months later. That’s what I call “rock bottom.” For someone that likes to sing about suntans so much, it’s ironic that he picked the pastiest woman in Hollywood.
5. Mainstream country music makes my ears bleed.

Anyway, I’m happy to migrate to Dos Equis, the beer of The Most Interesting Man in the World and cool guys everywhere. I heard The Most Interesting Man in the World puts his shirt on just like the rest of us – one sleeve at a time (excluding Kenny Chesney). Except, once his shirt is on, he makes gold records.

Here are Chesney’s #1’s, and whether or not he had anything to do with them other than showing up to the studio one day without any sleeves:

She’s Got It All – NO
When I Close My Eyes – NO
That’s Why I’m Here – NO
How Forever Feels – PARTIAL CREDIT
You Had Me From Hello – PARTIAL CREDIT
The Good Stuff – NO
There Goes My Life – NO
When The Sun Goes Down – NO
Living in Fast Forward – NO
Summertime – NO
Beer in Mexico – YES!!!!!
Never Wanted Nothing More – NO
Shiftwork – NO
Better as a Memory – NO

The Most Interesting Man In The World

The Most Interesting Man In The World on Packages

I know it’s late and this isn’t music related, but I just watched SportsCenter and realized that today is the 25th anniversary of George Brett’s “Pine Tar Incident.” I grew up in Kansas City for the first 7 years of my life and still remember going to K-Mart to get autographs from my heroes, George Brett, Frank White and Willie Wilson.

This is one of my earliest baseball memories and one of the reasons I fell in love with the sport. Does any modern professional athlete care this much about a homerun or the outcome of a game? George Brett was one of a kind and one of the best hitters of all time. Three batting titles in three different decades. Wow.

Stalk That Myth by Bowery Boy Blue ended up in our inbox about two months ago. I’ve been itching for the release date to post this review because it took no more than one listen to enjoy it. It took a few more to really start finding the nooks and crannies in the music.

The band is fronted by Zeb Gould and evolved from his solo work. Gould and crew deliver a 32 minute set of melancholic Americana that is at parts, beautiful (Eye For Love) and at others heartbreaking (Ghost Of The Blues). The production work is well thought out and they have a knack for finding the perfect accompaniment for Gould’s vocals and lyrics - Nothing too overpowering or complex to take away from the end game.

Strings, banjo picking, steel are all present and used perfectly on Stalk That Myth. The lead track, however, brings some crunching chords that will have everyone comparing them to Magnolia Electric Co. and Crazy Horse.
The Brooklyn outfit is releasing their debut July 29th on Space Photo Records.

MySpace | Space Photo Records

Bowery Boy Blue - Come Closer, Sisters

Bowery Boy Blue - Great Dead Town

Bowery Boy Blue - Ah, What a Cruel Change

It’s official. I’m obsessed with Dr. Dog’s newest release, Fate. It is one of the best albums so far this year (maybe the best).
Here’s a video of the studio recording of “Hang On.”

Here are the two mp3’s released from Fate:

Dr. Dog - The Ark

Dr. Dog - The Old Days