have everything they have put out and seen em 3 times. my favorite rock band in the last 10 years. intelligent songs, true to their roots and they can rock. new cd will be out on feb 15th. they also have their music on vinyl. go to their site for details. thanks for the post |
for extra credit,,ha check out jason isbell. he was with dbt for a while [wrote some great songs like decoration day] and his 2 solo cds are great |
Yup been following them for a long while - Potato Hole is genius! |
I used to see them in the early-mid 90's at a O'Neileigh's, a one-trailer bar in Macon GA. They were like Appalachian punk, with banjos and mandolins. Years later, I heard they'd achieved wider acclaim, so I saw them at Austin City Limits. Good for what it was, but nothing as I expected. They had transformed into sort of a crowd-pleaser southern rock band, and abandoned the hardcore-bluegrass that made them interesting to me in the beginning. |
they also backed and produced up bette lavette on her comeback cd a year or so ago. potato hole was with booker t |
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"Decoration Day" my fav, esp. the Stones tribute "Marry Me."
If you like DBT, you might check out Slobberbone, out of Denton, Texas, esp. "Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today."
Also in the conversation is Two Cow Garage, out of Columbus; start with "Wall Against Our Backs."
Both are bands of van warriors making rural-flavored, gritty rock in the vein of DBT. I probably prefer them both to DBT.
John |
If nothing else, you gotta like the band name "Two Cow Garage". |
If nothing else, you gotta like the band name "Two Cow Garage". As the name might lead you to suspect, lots of witty song writing from TCG. Definitely worth a listen, Marty, if you like the Truckers. J |
Martykl, thanks for the sloberbone suggestion, really awesome band also |
slobberbone's song "give me back my dog" is a classic rock song |
since when did "audiophiles" start listening to this stuff??? ha |
jbc: Stephen King plugged "Gimmie Back My Dog" in one of his books. Slobberbone offered him a free ticket on their website. |
king lauded that song as one of the best 10 rock songs of all time i read in an article. i think his band plays it too |
For the record,
I know the Truckers only via radio, and Slobberbone and Two Cow Garage were names completely unknown to me until John posted 'em - so I'll redirect Kedoades' thanks his way and track down the relevant CDs for my next music purchase spree (this weekend).
Marty |
Yes, sorry, I guess I should have thanked John for the slobberbone suggestion, any other bands? |
the bottlerockets are the best st louis band. the brooklyn side and zoysia are my favorites cds by them |
drive by truckers opened for petty on this summers tour. they are the kind of band that you need to see in a bar where they headline and play for a whole night and start passing the whiskey bottle around. they didn,t translate well in big stadium but not many do..i am not saying they are a bar band but i,d rather see them in that sort of venue. |
Have fun shopping, Marty. :)
Jbc is right that the Bottlerockets are very worth a listen (I like "Brand New Year"). For my money, the best St. Louis Bands are no longer active: Uncle Tupelo, arguably among the most important American rock bands of the past 50 years (sort of the Velvet Underground of alt.country) and Nadine, whose "Downtown Saturday," is a classic of Americana. Both bands will likely appeal to fans of DBT type stuff.
Women working more and less in the genre worth checking out: the great Shannon McNally ("Geronimo," "Coldwater") and Sera Cahoone (selftitled, "Only as the Day is Long")
John |
More titles to look for!
I'm a huge fan of The Bottlerockets and would add their debut CD to the recommended releases - IMHO it's right up there with Brooklyn Side. I'd also agree that Uncle Tupelo belongs at the top of the list of influential bands - explains why the whole alt. country genre was sometimes called No Depression music.
For those who can forgive the somewhat cliched central image, the Bottlerocket's track "Waiting On A Train", written IIRC, by Brian Henneman's brother, is a candidate for #1 saddest rock song ever.
Marty |
If we can tolerate some geographical diversity, the Texas(I think) band called The Reivers (briefly known as Zeitgeist) also deserves mention among the pioneers of Alt. Country. I believe that they predated Uncle Tupelo, but I'm not certain about that. Their particular variation included more vocal harmony and - to the extent it received any notice at all - was sometimes called the "New Sincerity" movement. Any of their records is worth owning if this is the tree you want to bark up.
Marty |
Thanks Marty! Just ordered The Reivers' last album (75 cents + sh on the Zon!). They were out of Austin. A little more alt and a little less country, perhaps, than some mentioned above, but very nice (speaking of the Velvet Underground, male lead sounds a lot like young Lou Reed).
John |
we all know the greatest st louis rocker is chuck berry. great music suggestions , i will have a busy weekend til the football starts |
John,
I believe that their singer/primary songwriter is called John Croslin and he quit the biz due to stage fright. That's a shame,too, since his songs are finely crafted, original but not mannered and employing harmonies that I frequently find arresting in a quirky way. He made a brief comeback in a band called Fire Marshalls of Babylon (or something similar) some years back, but IMHO that never touched the quality of his work with The Reivers.
As to the more alt., less country, I wouldn't argue with you. I'll just dump it all under Americana and call it a day. Enjoy your new purchase. (Sorry to see that shipping wasn't included.)
Marty |
i just remmberd cross canadian ragweed. they have a great catalogue too. they recently retired. great band from oklahoma |
Yes Marty, Americana covers a multitude of sins. My favorite in the genre, and at the top of my "in heavy rotation" is not even American: Po'Girl, a spin off of the also very nice Be Good Tonyas. But now we are *very* far from the Truckers.
Back to the van warrior rowdy theme: Lucero, out of Memphis (try "Nobody's Darlings"). Perhaps not up to standards of Truckers, and certainly not Uncle T, but very good.
I'll look for Cross Canadian Ragweed, jbc.
John |
Just found a new band of former slobberbone members called the Dram, any heard them yet? |
Kedoades: Slobberbone's excellent bass player "retired" for a while, hence the Drams. He's back at it, and so is Slobberbone, last I heard. This is a good thing, I think. Drams had most of the Slobberbone, plus keys, as I recall. Saw them once: a popier sound -- good, but not as good as Slobberbone. The Sb show I saw on their "last tour" (warmed up by Two Cow Garage) among the handful of best I've seen.
John |
John,
I ordered the Slobberbone cd you recommended, but 2 Cow's "Wall Against Our Backs" wasn't available. Might be out of Print? So, if you were choosing your next most hightly recommended 2 Cow cd, it would be....?
Thanks in advance.
Marty |
Drat, Marty. I think 2CG changed labels (to Suburbanhome) which may have resulted in the back catalog being 86ed.
The band has slowly gotten a bit more poppy, and turned down their live shows, which used to give you hotflashes. I see their first record, "Please Turn the Gas Back On," is available, but it is pretty raw (though it has the lovely "All Sins Forgiven"). A lot of people like "Speaking in Cursive," but it didn't grab me so much. After "Walls," my favorite is "III" -- slicked up a bit from their earlier stuff, and even has horns, but still their trademark grit, and their shrewd and witty songwriting.
John |
III it is.
I'll chase it down and report back here.
Marty |
The wall against our backs is available on amazom, but it is 85 bucks, to much for me |
Yeah, 85 bucks a lot; don't think I've ever paid more than 20 for a single disc. Betcha WAUB get's reissued.
Here's another rec: Hayes Carll, a Texas twanger directly comparable to Steve Earle. No doubt this is controversial, but I think he's a better songwriter, and I prefer him all around. Both "Little Rock" and Trouble in Mind" are nearly without misstep. Very highly recommended.
John |
as a loyal steve earle fan i would disagee. but hayes is just starting out so i'll pay attention. i have one of his cds and i;ll relisten today. for another suggestion for some real americana how about ray wylie hubbard and gurf morlix. i love their music. it seems like we owe a debt to texas for all the great musicians. rock/country/blues |
Going to see 'secret to a happy ending' tonight.
Anyone else seen it yet? |
mike
there wasn,t an opportunity for me since it wasn,t previewed in st louis. i have it ordered on dvd. if you go please write a review. |
Started seeing the Truckers right when Shonna joined the band and have since become one of my favorites. I have also seen most of the bands listed above with the exception of slobberbone. Lucero and CCRW have there merits, they just don't rock enough for me. What got me into the Truckers was three guitar players, three songwriters, and three singers, along with their high energy on stage. I agree that they do not translate to the big stage, but they are getting closer.
Fist in the air rock-n-roll...everytime.
Brings me to the movie, "Secret to a happy ending", which I saw this week. Not saying it is a must see for fans, but thought it was done pretty well. Think that there is even something in there for the occasional listener. It gave some insight on how they got started and how tough the road was. All of the footage and most of the movie focused around the time period when Isbell and Shonna where in the band together and its demise. It is not sugar coated, which I thought was the films greatest attribute. My only complaint was they did not include John Neff. He only spoke once in the entire movie and never mentioned his contributions or his opinions. Worth a watch anyway and fans will not be disappointed. My 2 cents for what its worth. |
mike,i wish shonna and cooley would put out solo cds. thanks for the review. have you listened to jason isbell's solo cds? |
New DBT comes out Tues 2/15! |
can,t wait. on itunes you get a bonus song not available on the cd. on amazon you get your cd a day early if you preorder. |
Thanks for the Slobberbone suggestion. Good fun! |
I pre-ordered Go-Go boots deluxe vinyl set about a month ago, comes with 3 Wes Freed limited prints, cd, extra cut, etc. Was able to download the single of 'Use to be a Cop' after the order. I hope the rest of the album is in line with this song, which I do like. I have even heard it on the radio already.
For those that have not pre-ordered the record, I did see today that they are going to be giving away an ep (which is cd only and doesn't really count as an ep in my book)that contains some live cuts and an additional track, if you buy the album from any 'record store day' affiliated shop.
Also saw that when they did the in-store at third man records on the 30th, that they are going to cut it on a vinyl release only available to those who went to the event. |
dbt is scheduled for jimmy fallon on feb. 15th. last year dbt recalled some of their lps saying there was a sound quality problem. nice to see a group care about their fans who use vinyl. |
great 3 minutes of tv. wish they had done 2 songs |
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everybody needs love. a nice song. but i,m more into hillbilly revenge type songs |
Any thoughts on 'Go-Go Boots'?
I need to give it a few more tries. There are a few cuts that I like, but man, what happened to the rock-n-roll power chords... |
i agree but i am enjoying the polish and writing of the songs. they are laid back songs nothing like decoration day or dirty south. as i listen for the 2nd time i think this is some really good music. but i am huge fan. |
@jbc, agreed on the huge fan, ditto. Sure it will grow on me more and there are a few cuts that I think are really good, the title track is great, the 'used to be a cop' is good also. Wish there were a few more Cooley tunes though. I got the deluxe vinyl package in the mail yesterday and it is top notch, Haven't spun the record yet. Wes Freed inserts are killer as always.
I finally watched the Jimmy Fallen performance, and thought that it was really good, better in fact than most of the tv performances I have seen them do.
No matter the outcome of the studio takes, they live shows keep me coming back for more and more. |
Yes, they have some great songs and guitar! Check out the solo stuff from the band members too...some good stuff! |
