Andrew
McAllister (ex-Conrad Ford) pushes envelopes and shopping
carts with his new band, Vanish Valley,
and with face reminiscent of a Happy Meal box and voice a
combination of Will Kimbrough, Dave Alvin and Gabby Hayes,
he waxes poetic enough for us all. Not only that, he knows
the prettiest girl from California... or so he says. Read
all about it.
ZOE
MUTH Showing Nashville
How
It's Done
While
Nashville is out to prove that country ain't country
anymore, Ballard, Washington's Zoe Muth is showing Nashville
how wrong they are. Steeped in traditional Country &
Western, Muth and The Lost High Rollers crank out a style of
music seldom heard since Country & Western was renamed
Country by an industry already in the early stages of decay.
They've garnered praise from all corners of the realm and
even from those outside the Country genre. It doesn't take
long to hear why. For those who love great music, but
especially for those who miss what Country & Western
once was. Read
the review and follow the links.
SHADE Are
You Ready?
Canada
has been doing some serious ass-kicking on the music scene
these days and it is mostly because of artists like The
Beige, Uncle
Sinner, Tim
Chaisson & The Morning Fold,
and pop wizards Shade,
who have just put out the first of what we hope will be many
albums. Their new album, Highway,
is packed full of melody and hooks like you can't believe.
We don't know what they're drinking up there, but we'll take
a case of it with options for more. Check
it out.
KINK
ADOR Rockin'
Nashville Like They Mean it!
When
Nashville kicked the country out, the rock moved in, and
we're talkin' about the real rock,
not that fake stuff put up by posers in fashion garb. Kink
Ador, to be specific, in fact. This trio knows how to get
the blood a-pumpin' and the legs a-jumpin'. There's a bit of
early Talking Heads in what they do but they take it in a
whole 'nother direction. A fan favorite! (Pssst... if you
don't like it, you're not a fan...). Read
about 'em here.
DUCK! It's
The BEIGE...
...
and
they've just released an album from another planet! Some
bands rock, some bands roll, but The
Beige do
damn well what they want. They lull you into dreamland, drop
you into a science fiction landscape and slam your head
against a musical wall well worth being slammed against.
Outstanding musicianship, topnotch songwriting and stellar
production. You think you know music? Try this! Could cause
trenchfoot and cold sweats. Do not listen if under a major
label spell. Not for the squeamish. Void where prohibited.
All of you who think you qualify, ready? GO!
THE
BIG MOTIF Motification
It's
a good thing I don't live in Colorado because I would more
than likely be spending way too much time in bars listening
to The Big Motif,
pounding down pints of the Oskar Blues brew
of the minute and killing what few brain cells I have left.
But I am four states away (proof-positive that there is a
God watching over me) and immersed in music which has
tracked me down and is holding me hostage. It is a time
tunnel between the present and the '70s, is this EP, and has
me thinking that maybe Colorado is not that long of a walk,
after all. Gordon's Ale and
The Big Motif?
A no-brainer. Read
the review.
LISBEE
STAINTON From
an Unmade Bed
There
could be a thousand or a million musicians out there and the
UK's Lisbee
Stainton would
still float to the top. Her songs range from introspective
folk to rockin' pop, all written with a touch that is
unmistakably all hers. At present, she is opening for Joan
Armatrading,
a commitment which will span three months when it is over.
Armatrading knows talent when she hears it. You will too.
Read
the review.
LAURIE
BIAGINI A
Far-Out Place
It
is hard to believe that British Columbia's Laurie Biagini is
from today's Canada because her music is straight out of
1950's and '60's California and New York City. Girl group
sounds mixed with surf and pop make this a genre-dream---
that is, if you like female sunshine pop a la Annette
Funicello, Patience & Prudence intertwined with Beach
Boys and Jan & Dean. It is a summer lover's rock
symphony full of everything from Moondawgie to Mr.
Microphone and with pheromones to spare. Can't wait for
summer? Grab this! Beach
Blanket Biagini...
BRIGHT
GIANT Made
In Jamaica
Okay,
Jamaica, Iowa, but it's still Jamaica. I know!!! Who knew?
Hey, Jamaica IA is A-OK if they crank out stuff like this
every once in awhile. Bright Gianthas
one leg in a vat of Black Crowes, another in mid-Rolling
Stones and a third--- well, I'm not really sure where that
third leg is, but these guys must have one. They're too good
for two. Based out of Des Moines, they are proof that
there's more in the cornfields than baseball and moonshine.
There is some damn fine rockin' as well. Read
on...
The
SOUNDCARRIERS Breaking
the Sound
Barrier
They're
ba-a-a-ck! With a new album of prog psych and a whole lot
more. This time out, Melodic Records gives you an option on
formats, including vinyl, and while we haven't seen it yet
(the vinyl edition), if it even approaches the CD package,
it is an album art award winner. Same great music, only
better. When you get done reading the review, we recommend
you head to the Soundcarriers' website for a listen and a
look-see. Read all about it right
here!
TOM
MANK SERA
SMOLEN With
Souls of Birds
Tom
Mank and Sera Smolen are treasures hidden in the wilds of
Ithaca, New York--- two musical heartbeats poised to pierce
through white noise in the States just as they have in
Europe. The release of their most recent album, Paper
Kisses,
will solidify critical acclaim which began in the '90s and
accelerated with 2004's Souls
of Birds and
the subsequent Where
the Sun Meets the Blue.
Mank and Smolen's work together, enhanced here with help
from numerous musician friends, is well worth a listen, if
not deep scrutiny. Read
the reviewand
stay tuned for an in-depth look at what makes them tick.
DEVON
SPROULE No
Hurry For Heaven
It
has been a long year of waiting for Devon
Sproule's
fans, not to mention Sproule herself. After an extended
delay her latest album, Don't
Hurry For Heaven has
finally been released and is receiving rave reviews, not the
least raving of which has been printed in these pages. To
attempt to make up for lag time between album completion and
release, we are also including an interview conducted a year
ago in anticipation of the album release and which we've
held back until now. Make no mistake. Devon
Sproule is
a force. But don't take our word for it. Read
the review,
read the
interview and buy the album.
RANDY
BURNS Back
To the Village
When
the majority of the world was still in diapers or maybe not
even a twinkle in their parents' eyes, Randy Burns was
plunkin' away in Greenwich Village trying to make a living.
While he never gained the notoriety of Phil Ochs or Bob
Dylan or many of the others we accept as standard bearers
these days, he gained a following and recorded a number of
albums which gained him a cult following. He's back with The
Simple Things and
has a new album in the works. From ESP-Disk to Polydor to
his own label in forty music-filled years. That's something
to brag about. Read
about him here.
GREEN
MONKEY Still
Doin' That Basement Crawl
GM
Exec Tom Dyer is keeping the Northwest Streaming going this
month with the
first ever CD release ofThe
Icons' Masters of Disaster,
originally released as a cassette only. Dyer ups the ante by
including five bonus tracks which you can hear when you drop
by the website for a streaming good time.Stop
by for a listen to some really out there rock
and
remember to check back with Green
Monkeyevery
month for something worth hearing and, hopefully, worth
buying.
In
the Future...
barring
an act of God or Congress, Rock & Reprisewill roll out in-depth
histories of country music legend Steve Young,
Cowboy(the
early years), fabled Pacific Northwest bands Notary
Sojacand Sand,
and monumental Seattle record label Seafair-Bolo.
Interviews with various musicians and artists will also be
posted (a link will soon be provided to the Historical
Archivespage).
Check back regularly.
This
site has been operating for a little over a year now and has
many more viewers than at the start, so it has been decided
to give some of the original artists a second shot for
discovery. You may have missed some amazing music by finding
us only recently, so don't forget to check out the featured
artists here. Right now, the finger is pointed at Royal
Wood, a Canadian of no
mean talent. Name the genre, he can pull it off and very
well, indeed. From lounge to orchestral ballads to rock.
Check out our review of his Lost
and Found EP.
It's great stuff.
FAME REVIEWS
These are reviews written recently for The Folk and Acoustic
Music Exchange (FAME):
HYMN
FOR HER Presents LUCY
& WAYNE Trailer
Trash Royalty Of
No Mean Repute
That's
right. Hymn For Her has given up the comforts of
Philadelphia and their comfy rock star lifestyle to hit the
road in their home-slash-trailer-slash-recording studio and
have been hobnobbin' with the ol' hoi polloi, by golly! They
have come down the turnpike with some regular down home
licks, too, and when you hear it, you'll be stompin' them
boots and swiggin' that likker. This ain't mountain music.
It's trailer trash music and it's damn good besides. Do
yerse'f a favor and check
'em out here. Good sippin' music. Yup.
TONI
VERE She
Wants To Be On
Ellen
And
she just may have a shot. Vere and her band, Hashmagandy,
just came out of the studio with a song and a video which
begs the question, Does Ellen have the balls? If she does,
she would be giving steam to the train that is both Canadian
and Calgarian, the band being based in Calgary. Last thing
to leave Calgary with any steam was the Cannons, the old
Mariners' Triple A farm club, and we see where they went
(Albuquerque, actually, which ain't all that bad). Check
out the review and don't forget to scroll down to
the video. It is fun and the tune is catchy and what the
hell? They might just be going somewhere.
LOST
IN SPACE
The
Space Opera Story
The
heretofore untold story of one of the great lost bands of
the 70s, from the beginning to present. Space Opera's
struggle to keep their music and their dreams alive spans
four decades and includes numerous legendary figures
including Clive Davis, T-Bone Burnett, Kris Kristofferson,
Major Bill Smith, Stephen Bruton, Edd Lively and others. It
is the story of a band's struggle for artistic control in a
music world fueled by profit. Read
on...
The
CARGOE Story
The
full history of Tulsa's Rubbery
Cargoe,
who headed to Memphis, worked with Dan Penn (The
Box Tops, et al)
and became Ardent
Records'
first chance at success. Originally posted on the Pop
Culture Presswebsite,
it is as in-depth as most of you can take and involves such
luminaries as Tulsa disc jockeys Robert
W. Walkerand
Jim
Peters,
the aforementioned Dan
Penn,
Ardent
Records' John Fryand
Terry
Manningand
labelmates Big
Star.
This is the full Ardent Records story from Cargoe's
standpoint... Read
on...
STEVE
YOUNG I
Coulda Been a Contender
The
fact that Steve
Young is
unknown in all but the most music-knowledgable households is
a major gap in the credibility of the music industry. Writer
of classics like Lonesome,
Orn'ry & Mean and
Seven
Bridges Road,
Young as a performer and musician has taken second chair to
so-called superstars with much less talent. His story is one
of conflict--- the desire for success against the high price
one pays. In the end, most will realize that Steve Young not
could have been, but is
a
contender... Coming soon...
FIRST
STORY JUMPER Livin'
Life on the B-Side
You
hear a lot these days about musicians and the time and
effort put into their projects, but few have put more into
theirs than these guys. Over three years, in fact. The time
was not wasted, though, because what they came out with was
mainstream magic. Theirs is the kind of music you might hear
on VH1's Jump Start on a Saturday morning--- you know the
ones--- where if you come into it in the middle, you have to
watch it till the end just to see who it was. For those
intrigued by the progress of a recording, click through,
read the review, watch the video (paying close attention to
the music) and then hit their MySpace page to hear the final
product. First Story Jumpers left sweat on the cutting room
floor, my friends, and the album proves it. Read
on...
They're
Jumpin' In Fort
Worth
Juke
Jumpin', that is. Here we go again with another great outing
by The Juke Jumpers,
those crazy Texans who just don't know how to stay still.
Led by guitarists Jim Colegrove and Sumter Bruton, saxed by
the legendary Johnny Reno, and pile-driven by drummer
Michael Bartula, bassist Jim Milan and keyboarder Craig
Simecheck, they can steamroll you, drive you to a frenzy, or
time-tunnel you into the past. No, this album was not
recorded in 1963. Find
out more here.
WHEN
SEGARINI TALKS
We
listen. Some people are music freaks, some are musicians,
some are historians. Bob
Segarini is
all three and more. Currently writing a music column for
fyimusic.catitled after one of his best known songs (Don't
Believe a Word I Say),
he sits at the computer keyboard day after day regaling the
world with memories and visions of the music world as it was
and is. As tribute to his perseverance, we are reposting
this excellent interview originally done for Pop
Culture Press's 'Summer
of Love' issue in which he talks about Harry
Nilsson,
Bill
Graham,
The
Wackers and
plenty more. Take
it, Bob.
Andrew
McAllister (ex-Conrad Ford) pushes envelopes and shopping
carts with his new band, Vanish Valley
While
Nashville is out to prove that country ain't country
anymore, Ballard, Washington's Zoe Muth is showing Nashville
how wrong they are. Steeped in traditional Country &
Western, Muth and The Lost High Rollers crank out a style of
music seldom heard since Country & Western was renamed
Country by an industry already in the early stages of decay.
They've garnered praise from all corners of the realm and
even from those outside the Country genre. It doesn't take
long to hear why. For those who love great music, but
especially for those who miss what Country & Western
once was. 
Canada
has been doing some serious ass-kicking on the music scene
these days and it is mostly because of artists like The
Beige
When
Nashville kicked the country out, the rock moved in, and
we're talkin' about the real 
...
It's
a good thing I don't live in Colorado because I would more
than likely be spending way too much time in bars listening
to The Big Motif
Okay,
Jamaica, Iowa, but it's still Jamaica. I know!!! Who knew?
Hey, Jamaica IA is A-OK if they crank out stuff like this
every once in awhile. Bright Giant 
They're
ba-a-a-ck! With a new album of prog psych and a whole lot
more. This time out, Melodic Records gives you an option on
formats, including vinyl, and while we haven't seen it yet
(the vinyl edition), if it even approaches the CD package,
it is an album art award winner. Same great music, only
better. When you get done reading the review, we recommend
you head to the Soundcarriers' website for a listen and a
look-see. Read all about it 
When
the majority of the world was still in diapers or maybe not
even a twinkle in their parents' eyes, Randy Burns was
plunkin' away in Greenwich Village trying to make a living.
While he never gained the notoriety of Phil Ochs or Bob
Dylan or many of the others we accept as standard bearers
these days, he gained a following and recorded a number of
albums which gained him a cult following. He's back with The
Simple Things 
GM
Exec Tom Dyer is keeping the Northwest Streaming going this
month with 
That's
right. Hymn For Her has given up the comforts of
Philadelphia and their comfy rock star lifestyle to hit the
road in their home-slash-trailer-slash-recording studio and
have been hobnobbin' with the ol' hoi polloi, by golly! They
have come down the turnpike with some regular down home
licks, too, and when you hear it, you'll be stompin' them
boots and swiggin' that likker. This ain't mountain music.
It's trailer trash music and it's damn good besides. Do
yerse'f a favor and 
And
she just may have a shot. Vere and her band, Hashmagandy,
just came out of the studio with a song and a video which
begs the question, Does Ellen have the balls? If she does,
she would be giving steam to the train that is both Canadian
and Calgarian, the band being based in Calgary. Last thing
to leave Calgary with any steam was the Cannons, the old
Mariners' Triple A farm club, and we see where they went
(Albuquerque, actually, which ain't all that bad). 
You
hear a lot these days about musicians and the time and
effort put into their projects, but few have put more into
theirs than these guys. Over three years, in fact. The time
was not wasted, though, because what they came out with was
mainstream magic. Theirs is the kind of music you might hear
on VH1's Jump Start on a Saturday morning--- you know the
ones--- where if you come into it in the middle, you have to
watch it till the end just to see who it was. For those
intrigued by the progress of a recording, click through,
read the review, watch the video (paying close attention to
the music) and then hit their MySpace page to hear the final
product. First Story Jumpers left sweat on the cutting room
floor, my friends, and the album proves it. 
Juke
Jumpin', that is. Here we go again with another great outing
by The Juke Jumpers