Dave Hunter over at the Gibson Guitar’s blog (love their acoustic guitars, but for electric I gotta side with Fender) has taken on the daunting task of choosing the “Top 5 Essential Alt-Country Albums.” No real surprises on the list, and I might have a quibble with one or two of the choices (No Lucinda Williams? No Bottle Rockets?) but it’s a nice introduction for anyone getting into the genre.

Patsy Cline brought country music from the hayride into the smoky piano bars of what was adult American pop in the late 50’s and may have set their course on that trail blazed by the torch she seemed to carry in every song. Add the that list Atlanta’s Missy Gossip and the Secret Keepers. This time the sorrowful siren is Lauren Staley who not only belts out some great tunes but plays guitar to boot. Luke Long lends the reverb vibe, Carla Kootsillas is on Mandolin and Mike Schmidt’s Bass and Jimmy Martin’s Drums all laying down a heavy bottom to pile high the tears. They even lend a feeling of remorse and loneliness to Micheal Jackson’s “Beat It.”

They group is out shopping their first EP and I think it’s going to be a jewel once released. Keep you eye on these folks, they’re doing it right!

Missy Gossip and the Secret Keepers - Beat It

Missy Gossip and the Secret Keepers cover Beat It

Add to the list of festivals I have yet to attend but want to Saint Louis, MO’s 4-day Twangfest (June 4-7, presented by KDHX 88.1 FM .) Twangfest is on it’s 12th year of providing fine alt.country to the lucky folks that live in the area or can make the trek. This years line up is a doozy.

Wednesday, June 4

The Schlafly Tap Room
2100 Locust Street at 21st
St. Louis, MO 63103
314.241.BEER
General admission; doors open at 7:00 PM.

Chuck Prophet
Centro-matic
The Builders & The Butchers

Thursday, June 5

The Duck Room at Blueberry Hill
6504 Delmar
St. Louis, MO 63103
314.727.0880
General admission; doors open at 7:00 PM.
Friday, June 6

The Gourds
Charles Walker & The Dynamites
Deadstring Brothers

The Pageant
6161 Delmar Blvd
St Louis, MO 63112
314.726.6161
General admission; doors open at 7:00 PM.
Saturday, June 7

Old 97’s
Hayes Carll
Miles Of Wire

Off Broadway
3511 Lemp Ave
St Louis, MO 63118
314.773.3363
General admission; doors open at 7:00 PM.

The Waco Brothers
Ha Ha Tonka
the everybodyfields
Caleb Travers

Billboard.com has a glowing write up on the May 15th Charleston, S.C. Drive By Truckers show. A sample:

That they continue to pull it off in such hammering, consistent fashion is not only a credit to their staying power (and ability to weather waves like the departure of Jason Isbell last year), but, as they showed on a sweaty and Jack Daniels-fueled 25-song set in Charleston, proof that it still might make sense to buy completely into the notion that rock n’ roll is the literal answer to many, many things.

Some compare Rodney Parker to the Old 97’s Rhett Miller is style, tone and subject matter. You won’t find me doing that.

I was designing band and club graphics, doing mural painting and bartending part-time in Dallas’ Deep Ellum in the early 90’s and remember Rhett with his “Mythologies” era Brit-pop stylings, with his teen beat poster-boy looks, playing the bars and coffee houses with an endless pack of swoony sorority scensters in his wake. Safe to say when he headed into alt-country territory with the Old 97s I could appreciate the song craft but he was still a bit too precious.

That said, to compare Denton–based Rodney Parker to Rhett Miller is to give the latter too much credit and the former not enough. If pressed I’d have to say I would liken Parker to West Texas singer/songwriter Joe Ely. Like Ely Rodney Parker, and his phenomenal band the 50 Peso Reward, forge honky-tonk tinged pop spinning tales of love and pain all shot through with humor. But Rodney Parker and the 50 Peso Reward spices up this recipe considerably with a hefty dose of rock. And like any good Texas music worth it’s salt there is plenty of bravado, brawling and whiskey in equal measure.

The Lonesome Dirge tears out of the shoot like an amped-up Ring Of Fire - all Mariachi horns and squeeze-box accordion and Gabriel Pearson setting a furious gallop of military-styled drums that drives this song of roasting rattlesnake, drinking moonshine and spiritual cleansing toward a searing a Springsteen-like anthemic conclusion. Speaking of Springsteen, Parker and Co.take the Boss’ spooky atmospheric “Atlantic City” (hey, that pretty much describes all of Nebraska) and makes it a defiant opportunistic declaration rather than Springsteen’s original exercise in existential resignation.

“In The River” is probably the closest Parker and Co come to a mainstream country song, except that it’s good and structured in ways that take you by surprise. “Brother” is a helluva pedal steel girded mid-tempo rocker about sibling rivalries and “Ghost” moves into melodious Ryan Adam’s-style pastoral narrative territory ending on an Irish ballad note. I’m not sure what brought the Emerald Isle spirit running throughout this release, but it rears it’s head again on “I’m Never Getting Married” which is a straight-up Irish whisky-soaked sing-along celebrating bachelorhood.

It’s good to get the message here in New York City that great music is not only surviving but thriving in the Lone Star State and bands like Rodney Parker & Fifty Peso Reward are doing us proud.

I’m drawn to music that sounds both timeless and new. It represents to me the concept of the connection in time of the past and future all running like a river with us standing right in the middle with the muddy now caking our boots. It also assures me that there are forms of innovation happening within country and roots music that stand starkly in contrast to the Nash-pop variety (which is not always bad, but I’ll post more on that later.)

I’ve come across a couple of ladies making waves in that river of time and music by showing a palpable reverence for country music’s traditional roots while bringing a refreshing shot of indie creativity and a sense of daring into the mix.

Colorado native and Seattle resident and Sera Cahoone’s early life experiments with the sax and junior high musical path that led her to the drums where she established her bona-fides as a drummer for the now-defunct indie sadcore band Carissa’s Weird (who’s members also included Ben Bridwell and Mat Brooke now in the group Band of Horses) led to her surprising sophomore solo outing “Only as the Day Is Long.” the release is a country-noir landscape where Cahoone’s voice stretches sleepily over spare, atmospheric dobro, pedal steel, guitar, and fiddle backing. Like a slow-core book end to Neko Case’s Furnace Room Lullaby Cahoone’s themes of innocence, hope and dread are woven throughout. With titles like “The Colder the Air,” “Happy When I’m Gone,” and “Shitty Hotel” you know your not in for a sunny romp, but country and roots music has always mined a rich vein of the melancholy and Sera Cahoone has staked a rich emotional and musical claim.

As her early incarnation with the moniker Save Macaulay a teenager Nashville’s Caitlin Rose was able to deliver classic country tunes with respect and authority in her distinctively Dolly meetsEmmylou vocal style. After dropping alias and at the ripe old age of 20 this Waffle House aficionado has released a quirky and beautiful EP that was cut in two days in November 2007 at the Bombshelter studios in East Nashville.

The love of country’s history exhibited immediately with the EP’s packaging and on the first cut of the Dead Flowers EP. With ‘Shotgun Wedding” Rose sings the tune with a Smokey Mountain lilt over Bob Grant’s excellent mandolin . “Answer In One Of These Bottles” takes it’s place with another classic narrative of drinking to forget Rose then shows she has the pipes to take on the Patsy Cline classic Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray as she covers it with all it’sforelorn beauty. Docket is a quirky Kris Kristofferson -style solo-guitar number that is perfect Summer listening and a lone tambourine accompanies the whimsical Gorilla Man brings to mind ShelSilverstein play on words. Rose then tackles the classic Cosmic American Rolling Stones-come-Gram-Parson a;;ad of heroin overdose from which this stellar EP derives it’s title.

“Only as the Day Is Long” - Sera Cahoone

“Dead Flowers EP” - Caitlin Rose

James McMurtry and Lightning Rod Records are holding a contest for fans to create a music video to the protest song “Cheney’s Toy” off McMurtry’s new release Just Us Kids.

From the entries, McMurtry will choose the best videos and post them on his official MySpace page and website. If needed, fans can create videos using slideshow applications at RockYou.com.  Creators of each of the top five videos will receive t-shirts and autographed copies of McMurtry’s new album,  Just Us Kids (in stores now). McMurtry’s choice for the best overall video will also receive an 8 Gb Apple iPod Nano.

Some video fans have already made.

Roots rocker Chris Gaffney of the Arizona-based Hacienda Brothers succumbed to liver cancer today, friends say. Our thoughts are with his family.

Peter Larson at the Orange County Register penned a fine and fitting obituary.

Ex-Drive By Trucker Jason Isbell and his backing band the 400 Unit will celebrate tax day (April 15, for all you rich people) trying to pick up a little bank by releasing a live 6 song EP. “Twist & Shout” (New West Records) was recorded at the Twist and Shout in Birmingham, Alabama back on 11-16-07. After seeing Isbell and his band put on a great show over the summer I’m thinking this is probably just a quarter of the full show. Why not the full show New West? I’m especially disappointed about the decision not to include my favorite cut from Isbell’s solo release “Dress Blues” but I am glade to see the inclusion of some of his great DBT cuts.

Track listing:

1. Grown
2. Goddamn Lonely Love
3. Hurricanes and Hand Grenades
4. Danko/Manuel
5. Outfit
6. Into The Mystic

Jason Isbell - Dress Blues