2011 Ramble Creek Day Party - 03/18/11

Perhaps my favorite day show from last year, the amazing folks at Ramble Creek Recording Studio will once again be providing a fantastic lineup for their 2011 day party. This year's show includes the talents of a diverse group of bands, including west Texas' own Thrift Store Cowboys and One Wolf. Last year's party was the model of a perfect SXSW day show -- great atmosphere, great music, and great people. See the schedule below and see you there!

The Ashes (Austin, TX) - 12:15pm
One Wolf (Athens, GA/Lubbock, TX) - 12:55
The Georgian Company (Austin, TX) - 1:25pm
Collin Herring (Austin, TX) - 2:05pm
Thrift Store Cowboys (Lubbock, TX) - 2:40pm
Graham Weber (Austin, TX) - 3:25pm
Seryn (Denton, TX) - 4:00pm
Brian Martin (Hot Springs, AR) - 4:55pm
Monahans (Austin, TX) 5:30pm
Telegraph Canyon (Ft Worth, TX) - 6:15pm

Find all the information you need about the show at the Facebook Event Page.

Show poster by Greg Vanderpool.

SXSW - Ramble Creek and Mile Hi Fidelity parties

Day Three - Friday

Friday morning we proved to be a bit less energetic than Thursday, and without any specific early plans, we took our time before heading to the Ramble Creek day party. We arrived just before 1 PM, with the primary intention of catching the set by One Wolf, who interestingly had played a party less than an hour before across town and still somehow managed to make it on time to the Ramble Creek show, held in a perfect backyard setting.

At that precise point, the random craziness of SXSW hit full force, as H. called to inform me that she and her friends had just gotten in a minor car accident. Thus, for obvious reasons, One Wolf did not happen for us, but most importantly, everyone involved in the accident was okay. While the cars received a good bit of damage, the accident wasn't our friend's fault, and after taking care of the necessities involved with that situation, we all returned to the Ramble Creek party for some much needed stress relief.

The first act we got to see was Collin Herring, an awesome artist currently based in Austin (formerly of Fort Worth) who I've been a fan of for a number of years now. Herring played a number of tracks off of his new release, Ocho, recorded of course at Ramble Creek, and produced by Will Johnson, and also mixed in some of his earlier songs. If I hadn't mentioned this before, Collin has about the coolest steel player around, Ben Roi Herring, his dad, and their duo performance (and banter) were a real pleasure to watch/hear.


















Did someone just say Will Johnson? Yes, that's right, THE Will Johnson of Centro-matic, South San Gabriel, and most recently, the drummer for the Monsters of Folk, graced the Ramble Creek party with a beautiful solo set. I hope I didn't embarrass myself as I sat roughly 10 feet from Will with my jaw resting on the ground, but hearing "Just to Know What You've Been Dreaming" in this particular setting was on par with the very best experiences of my entire SXSW, or maybe more accurately of the past few years. Whatever it took to get him to come play at this show, I can't thank the folks at Ramble Creek enough for making this happen.























I haven't described the exact locale of the Ramble Creek show yet, but it was by far the most enjoyable day party of SXSW by far. It was held in a backyard with the perfect set-up and perfect weather to accompany, and to boot, a big tub full of Lone Star was available for all in attendance.

The next act was one I have missed seeing live ever since we moved to Colorado. Doug Burr has written some of my favorite songs of the last decade, and in my book he has about as much integrity as any artist I listen to. He has recently recorded a new album, from which he played a number of songs. In short, I couldn't be more excited for these songs, as they are absolutely phenomenal. Doug has crafted a career in exactly the fashion that he wants, and this diligence has surely paid off as more and more people begin to take notice. He was backed at this show by his frequent collaborator Glen Farris, as well as members of Seryn and Monahans drummer Roberto Sanchez for some songs.



















































Next up was Austin band Monahans, who include Ramble Creek owner/engineer Britton Beisenherz on guitar. I had not seen this band before, although a number of years ago I saw a previous project of some of the musicians called Milton Mapes, and was a fan of all of that band's material. Monahans, however, is a new project, and as I think was the intention, the transition has infused a new energy into their music. The band is tighter than ever as a performing group, and their set at this day party was absolutely flawless and one of the best of the entire SXSW for me. The band has two albums to their name, although they are in the process of a project in which they will release one song a month for download for the rest of 2010. The first track is already available, and you can check out their Web site for details on how to get in on this opportunity. Monahans is a band on the rise and I fully hope they can ride the momentum to more widespread success and notoriety in the near future.



































Alas, as much as I hated to leave, I had to take off after Monahans because I wanted my Austin friend to see Denver's Slim Cessna's Auto Club, and knew this would be our best chance. While I missed Telegraph Canyon's set at Ramble Creek, I was able to make up for my exit by catching them on Saturday night.

After some frantic traffic navigation and hurried walking, we made it to the Mile Hi Fidelity party just in time to catch the latter half of Slim Cessna's set. Do I even have to mention that Slim did not disappoint? Munly was in top form, having just arrived from the year 1840, performing an extremely high energy set as co-frontman to Slim, just as we have all come to expect out of him and the Auto Club. Very few bands can claim to hold a foot firmly in the alt country legacy of the early 1990s while also remaining relevant for modern Americana/Southern Gothic music as well. In short, SCAC brought their tent revival to Sixth Street, and the end of the set no doubt saw a new group of converts leaving their first Slim show. Please see Slim if you get the chance. Sadly, even though they were the last band, Slim's energetic finale didn't lead into any encore, despite my desire to hear their epic "He, Roger Williams."

SXSW Axiom #4: No encores necessary at SXSW. There is simply too much music during the week for 99% of crowds to ask for another song. Few listeners even catch full sets, and no matter where you go you hear more music, so the encore is largely absent at SXSW, probably to everyone's benefit.

As you can see in the pictures below (click to enlarge), Slim and Munly's crowd involvement made for some of the best action pics of the festival, although "best" is a relative term with my crappy camera. You can't see it that well in the small version, but I love Slim's look in the background of the second picture below.

SXSW preview - 2010 Ramble Creek day party

Of all the SXSW shows that we preview on Windfarm, we can't possibly attend every single one because of various time conflicts and the like, but every now and again, there's comes along a "can't miss" day party that we hope we can convince you to attend. Hopefully you've not yet grown tired of the previews, and haven't enacted any kind of a self-imposed boycott on blogs that are covering SXSW. In short, Ramble Creek has put together one of the best day show line-ups I've seen thus far. While the line-up should be enough to get you there, there's the added bonus that Lone Star Beer and Waialua Soda Works will be providing you with refreshing beverages as well.

Ramble Creek is an Austin-area recording studio that has been gaining a very solid reputation in Texas because of the great work they have produced. The studio has recorded some of my favorite albums of the last few years, most notably those from the likes of Doug Burr, Monahans, Telegraph Canyon, and Collin Herring. Additionally, they recorded forthcoming albums from Lubbock-scene stalwarts One Wolf (One Wolf II: Secret of the Wolf) and Denton-based songwriting genius Doug Burr (O Ye Devastator) that I am quite excited about, to say the least.

I'm less familiar with Seryn, Austin Collins and The Georgian Company, although I expect they will be of similar high quality as the rest of the line-up. While I hear promising rumors here and there about the "Special Guest," no official announcements have been made about who this artist might be. We'll pass that info along in coming weeks if we hear, but I expect whoever it is will be well worth your time.

Everything you need to know is on the poster below. Check out Showlush for additional details. I know I said your SXSW schedule will fall apart after the first day, but the beauty of this show is you can just show up and stay all day. See you there.

Favorite Albums of the Decade from Our Favorite Artists

(Design credit Julie Cope)

In the face of all of the "best of decade" lists, we...well, we did some too. However, we reached out to a substantial number of indie artists that we are fans of and asked them what albums made the most lasting impression on them over the course of the past decade, in hopes that we would turn up some records that you won't find on the typical lists. We left the format open and welcomed multiple lists from each band. We are extremely grateful to all who participated. Below is the response. As an added bonus to you, the reader, feel free to post your own list in the comments section.

Greg Vanderpool - Monahans

"Even though this has been the decade of iTunes and shuffle playlists, I still love the album format. When a record locks into a mood from beginning to end yet still has enough contrast from song-to song to keep things interesting, it's a beautiful thing. I also love consecutive albums that complement each other so much so that they become a sort of saga (the same way Godfather I & II could be considered one film). It's hard to deny the body of work that Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Spoon and Wilco created over the past 10 years, alone. Aside from those, these are some of the ones that stick out in my mind..."

Chris Whitley - Soft & Dangerous Shores
Califone - Roomsound
Crooked Fingers - Crooked Fingers & Bring On The Snakes
Centro-Matic - South San Gabriel Songs/Music

The Court & Spark - Bless You

Bexar Bexar - Tropism & Haralambos

Steve Earle - Transcendental Blues
The Damnations - Where It Lands

Rob Lowe - Piano & Guitars; Balmorhea

"I am surprised at my list. I think most of the music that I really love and respect happened before 2000. It's hard for me to have a lot of perspective on music since 2000. I guess these records are the ones that I find the most affective, the ones I want to listen to all the time. They don't particularly represent the records that I think are the most innovative or even the most interesting (although most of them are both), but these are definitely the ones that I am closest to. And I guess that is what I like most in a record, something mysterious that just makes you keep listening over and over and over."

In alphabetical order:
The American Analog Set - Know by Heart

Gillian Welch - Time (The Revelator)

Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks

Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Rachel's - Systems/Layers
Sigur Ros - ( )
Smog - A River Aint too Much to Love
Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts of the Great Highways

Tiny Vipers - Life on Earth
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Winston Chapman - Drums; Bosque Brown

Strokes - Is This It? (2001)

Bill Calahan - Woke on a Whaleheart (2007)
Dr. Dog - We All Belong (2007)

Mara Miller - Bosque Brown

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Master and Everyone

The Shivers - Charades
Beach House - Beach House
the Knife - Deep Cuts
Gillian Welch - Time (the Revelator)

Jeremy Buller - Guitar, Keyboards, Miscellaneous, Vocals; Bosque Brown

John Vanderslice - Time Travel Is Lonely- Not his first solo album but, to me, the one with which he found his voice - settled into a style of writing, production, and engineering that all continue to influence me a great deal. His adaptation of Robert Lowell's 'The Old Flame' is perhaps my favorite of JV's recordings.

Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther- Though Midlake has had several markedly different-sounding records prior (and all of them very good), this one is another 'settling' album - they really found their sound here. A few critics thought the first three tracks left the album too front-loaded; they're idiots. Tracks 5-7 ('Young Bride', 'Branches', and 'In This Camp') make up my favorite three-songs-in-a-row of any album, ever. Magical moments include the vocal delivery of the second verse of 'Roscoe' ('now it's filled with hundreds and hundreds of chemicals that mostly surround-you-you-wish-to-flee-but-it's-not-like-you-so-listen-to-me-listen-to-me...'), the bowed strings and shakers that creep in at 1:27 in 'Head Home' (and Paul's most excellent guitar solo, and the dueling-guitars freakout slow-fade that closes the song), the lone snare hit that punctuates the second verse of 'Young Bride,' the way the words 'I wanted to maaarrrrryyy Babette' soar over the crashing guitars and drums of 'In This Camp'... etc. etc. etc... there are so many more...

Damien Jurado - Where Shall You Take Me? - It's hard for me to pick from Damien's albums. He's had so many albums full of fantastic songs... the first two songs of his I ever heard, though, were 'Matinee' and 'Window' from this album. 'Amateur Night' showcases the less-is-more dark-narrative writing that he's so freaking good at, and 'Tether' is one of those songs that is identifiable to the point of scaring me. 'Tether' is one of the reasons the repeat-one button exists.

David Wingo - Ola Podrida

"I was asked to provide 5-10 of my favorite albums of the last decade but I ended up with 12, and I couldn't see fit to take any of these albums off the list. Depending on my mood I could say that any one of these amazing records is my favorite of the decade...there are many, many albums that came out over the last 10 years that I love a great deal but these are the ones that I feel like have truly become a part of me and that I imagine will always fully engage and astound me, no matter how many times I've listened to them. I don't really know how to properly talk about any of them; I'm too close to the music at this point, and I think that's the hallmark of any great music...words can't even begin to do it justice."

In no particular order:
The Clientele - Suburban Light

Songs Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co.
Sigur Ros - ( )
The New Year - Newness Ends
The Radar Bros - And the Surrounding Mountains

Bibio - Fi

Explosions In The Sky - The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place
Joanna Newsom - The Milk Eyed Mender
The National - Boxer
Wolf Parade - Apologies To The Queen Mary
Radiohead - In Rainbows
M. Ward - Transfiguration of Vincent


Daniel Markham - One Wolf

Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf...i was initially excited about Dave Grohl's return to the drums, but the songs and fuzzed out guitars really did it for me. i still listen to this on a weekly basis on cassette.

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - Cold Roses...i always hear people talk about how hit or miss this album is, but for me it was just perfect. it just sounds so classic to me.

The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots...i love anything weird, and this is definitely that. it will always remind me of driving through thick fog on the California coast. i love how scientific wayne coyne's lyrics are, too.

Beck - Sea Change...when i got this i couldn't stop listening to it. it's just so mellow and trippy. it's by far my favorite beck album.

R.E.M. - Accelerate...r.e.m. is my favorite band of all time. this is such a great "return to form" for them after a few more experimental albums. it's very energetic and also very short. i absolutely love this album! it has everything i love about this band on one disc. for sure!

Collin Herring

Sun Kil Moon - April

Richard Buckner - Impasse
Centro-matic - Distance and Clime
Hem - Rabbit Songs
The Walkmen - Bows and Arrows
Kathleen Edwards - Failer
Beck - Sea Change
Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker
Drive-By Truckers - Decoration Day
Lucinda Williams - Essence

Colin Gilmore

Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros - Streetcore (2003)

Billy Joe Shaver - Freedom's Child (2002)
Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris - All the Roadrunning (2006)
Flatlanders - Wheels of Fortune (2004)
Brandi Carlisle - Brandi Carlisle (2005)
Robert Plant and Allison Krauss - Raising Sand (2007)

The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002)

"Not in this order necessarily. These are some of the albums that I think have kept music to a high standard during this decade. I hope they're just a taste of what's to come."

Brooks Kendall - Bass; Rodney Parker & 50 Peso Reward

Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP
Jay-Z - The Black Album
Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - Jacksonville City Nights
The Game - The Documentary
Hayes Carll - Trouble In Mind
Macon Greyson - Uneasy
Radiohead - Kid A
Doug Martsch - Now You Know

Andy Martinez

Stephen Malkmus - Real Emotional Trash

The Court and Spark - Hearts
Joseph Arthur - Nuclear Daydream
Twilight Singers - She Loves You
Magnolia Electric Company - What Comes After The Blues
Strays Don't Sleep - Strays Don't Sleep
Daniel Lanois - Shine
Matthew Ryan - Vs. The Silver State
Nick Cave - Dig, Lazurus, Dig!!!

Doug Burr

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Master & Everyone

Seth Woods - Sad Accordions, Whiskey Priest, Booher & the Turkeyz, Zookeeper, Alex Dupree & the Trapdoor Band

"how about... top 61? okay, i got a little carried away. i'm sorry! i just couldn't leave all these great records off my list! so instead, i tried to sort them as conveniently and non-arbitrarily as i could. the categories are fairly self-explanitory, except maybe the "spiritual documents" one. these are the records that, for me, go beyond the mere classification of "record" and dip into a realm of creation that "records" such as Astral Weeks exist in - more than just timeless recordings or timeless songs, there is something greater than the art of the musicians being captured here...
also, there are just some records that i can't separate from others in my experience of them. for instance, in thinking about the radiohead records that came out during this decade, i don't have a favorite. they are all my favorite. this decade of radiohead was my favorite radiohead record! i keep expecting them to let me down at some point, but so far, they haven't. so those four records count as one to me. as opposed to the arcade fire, who do have two very good records, but their second record is hands down my favorite of the two. therefore, only neon bible is listed.
look, just be grateful that i didn't include my favorite records that came out in PAST decades but weren't discovered by me until THIS decade!"

BEST OF AUSTIN

Zykos - S/T

Fivehead - Guests of the Nation

Meryll - You've Got Cousins / Happened / Rimziate

Shearwater - Palo Santo / Winged Life

Alex Dupree and the Trapdoor Band - S/T / Las Meridanzas

Frank Smith - Big Strike in Silver City

American Analog Set - Promise of Love

Milton Mapes - The Blacklight Trap

The Gloria Record - Start Here

The Miracle Chair - #4 The Digital Frontier

BIG TIMERS

Pete Yorn - Music for the Morning After

Brian Eno and David Byrne - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

Bob Dylan - Tell Tale Signs (Bootleg Series vol. 8)

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus

Radiohead - Kid A / Amnesiac / Hail to the Thief / In Rainbows

Thom Yorke - The Eraser

Coldplay - Parachutes

David Gray - A New Day at Midnight / White Ladder

Randy Newman - The Randy Newman Songbook vol. 1

INDIE BIG TIMERS

Broken Social Scene - S/T / Bee Hives

Wilco - A Ghost is Born / Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

The Postal Service - Give Up

The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker

TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

Okkervil River - Down the River of Golden Dreams / Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See

Joanna Newsom - Ys

The Mountain Goats - We Shall All Be Healed

THE UNDERDOGS

The Standard - August / Wire Post to Wire / Albatross

Sam Amidon - All is Well

Ho-Hum - Near and Dear

Don Chaffer and Waterdeep - Whole 'nother Deal

Nat Baldwin - Most Valuable Player

The Lord Dog Bird - S/T

The Wrens - The Meadowlands

Vigilantes of Love - Audible Sigh

Creeper Lagoon - Remember the Future

David Garza - A Strange Mess of Flowers / Overdub

THE CLASSY FOLKS

Daniel Lanois - Shine / Here is What is

Gillian Welch - Soul Journey

Crooked Fingers - S/T / Bring on the Snakes / Red Devil Dawn / Dignity and Shame

Calexico - Feast of Wire

John Vanderslice - Cellar Door

Jim White - No Such Place

Joseph Arthur - Our Shadows Will Remain / Redemption's Son
Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts of the Great Highway / Tiny Cities
Over the Rhine - Ohio
Nina Nastasia - Dogs

ROCKING INDIE

Guided by Voices - Universal Truths and Cycles

AC Newman - The Slow WonderWolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer

Damien Jurado - I Break Chairs
Pedro the Lion - Winners Never Quit / The Only Reason I Feel Secure / Control / Achille's Heel
Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
Nada Surf - Let Go
Richard Buckner - Dents and Shells / Meadows

SPIRITUAL DOCUMENTS
Akron/Family - S/T
Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans
Gillian Welch - Time (the Revelator)
smog - A River Ain't Too Much to Love
Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle


Western Ghost House

Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy
M. Ward - Transistor Radio
Desaparecidos - Read Muisc/Speak Spanish
Beach House - Devotion
The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We Are Gone?
Deer Tick - War Elephant
Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter III
The Shivers - Charades
Darkest Hour - Undoing Ruin
Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica


Derek - Writer, CFO, Windfarm

The Paper Hearts - Plans for the Past
Lucero - That Much Further West
Damien Jurado - Where Shall You Take Me?
Willy Mason - EP
Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker
Silver Jews - Bright Flight
Drive-By Truckers - Decoration Day
Kathleen Edwards - Failer
Gillian Welch - Time (the Revelator)
Will Johnson - Vultures Await
Explosions in the Sky - The Earth is Not...
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Master & Everyone
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Damien Rice - o
Hayes Carll - Flowers & Liquor

Jeff - Writer, Procrastinator, Windfarm

If I was to have to pick the albums that I would say had the greatest impact on me over the past decade, this is a pretty comprehensive list. Some of these albums I might leave off if I wanted to appear super cool or hip, but here's as honest a list as I can put together.

Lucero - Tennessee
Explosions in the Sky - The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place
Nels Andrews - Sunday Shoes
Hayes Carll - Trouble in Mind
Atmosphere - You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having
Slim Cessna's Auto Club - Cipher
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News
Eleven Hundred Springs - A Straighter Line
Richard Buckner - Meadow

And while I didn't include any particular album from them, I want to note a few artists that I consider to have produced the strongest body of work over the decade.

The Avett Brothers (it was too hard to pick one album)
Doug Burr (both solo and with the Lonelies)
Ryan Adams (solo & with the Cardinals)
DeVotchKa (hardly a single bad song over four LPs)
Will Johnson (solo, Centro-matic, South San Gabriel, etc. etc. etc.)

A decade of thrift

(photo credit Logan Caldbeck)

While I typically cover Denver area music happenings, at times I am compelled to mention events from my home state of Texas. Big milestones only come around so often, and thus I felt the need to make note of this one.

One of Lubbock's most longstanding rock bands, Thrift Store Cowboys, will celebrate their 10th year playing under that name this Saturday at Jake's Backroom. The band will be going into the studio next spring to begin work on their fourth full-length album, but in the meantime, you can pick up a copy of the 7" vinyl split with One Wolf from earlier this year, or check out the free downloads from their in-studio at KAMP in Tucson this past September.

TSC have lined up great support for the show as well, tabbing long-time friend and Austin rocker Collin Herring to open up the show. Herring is playing in support of his recently released fourth album, Ocho.

So if you happen to live in the Lubbock area, this is a show that will make you want to hire a babysitter and head out to. It's a celebration of not only the band's career, but more broadly of the Lubbock music scene and it's persistent presence over the decades. Check back here in 2019 for details on the 20-year celebration.

3 albums that shouldn't fall through the cracks

Another installment in my series of paying tribute to lesser known albums/bands that have been good to me over the years.

Nels Andrews - Sunday Shoes

In terms of first albums, and also complete albums, Sunday Shoes stands at the top in my mind. This former Albuquerque (now Brooklyn) resident played and toured regionally around New Mexico for a number of years behind this album, although I think he has maintained a bigger fan base in Europe for most of that span. The weight of the songwriting on this album was apparent to me when I saw him open solo for the Magnolia Electric Co. a few years ago. The crowd was a mix of indie and alt country types, although in Lubbock those people are the same, but nonetheless, by the end of the show, he had everyone's attention and basically had the room silenced, which is no small feat at any show in Lubbock. This album is still fairly generally available, and you can download it off all of the major sites as well. I hesitate to pick stand-out tracks from this album, but "Jesse's Mom," "Weight," and "Petal to a Bee" are 3 tracks that should give you a good idea of the strength of this album.

Milton Mapes - Westernaire

Milton Mapes is somewhat of a quintessential Austin band, and I don't mean that in a bad way. They tour very rarely, but they continue to put out good music, and only tour when the opportunity is just right. For that matter, they usually only tour as a 2 piece, so you'll have to catch them in Austin or Dallas to get the full band show. I can't remember if MM is officially "broken up" or not, but they generally perform under the moniker of Monahans now, which I think has some inspiration in the duly titled song from Westernaire. They still play occasionally under the name Milton Mapes, named after the lead singer's grandfather if I remember correctly, so I think the different band names have more to do with artistic vision than anything else (remember when I said quintessential Austin band?). Westernaire is a solidly thematic album (whatever that means), and overall is a great listen, as is their first album The State Line. Standout tracks you might want to check out are "Maybe You're Here, Maybe You're Not" and "The Only Sound That Matters."

Deadman - Paramour

This album was a tough selection, and one that a number of people I know might not agree with, simply because the current incarnation of Deadman, i.e. Steven Collins, isn't really all that similar to the Deadman that made Paramour. This album has a quiet brilliance to it (once again, whatever that means), but very honestly is an amazing collection of songs with beautiful harmonies from Steven and Sherilyn Collins. "The Ballad of Padre Miguel" blends Mexican guitar and alt country/indie rock in as natural of a way as one could ever hope to put together, that is, it doesn't sound contrived or unauthentic. "Ghost Story" is another great track on the album, and the one that first drew me to the band at a live show in Fort Worth 7 or 8 years ago. I don't know that I can fully describe this album, but I think it was made at a point in time where everything and everyone came together with the right influences and just got it "right." Sounds cliched I know, but it's well worth it. I won't even talk about the latest releases from Deadman, because it's just going to take away from what I just said about this one.

Both Paramour and Westernaire are still widely available, either as downloads, or used on Amazon. Won't cost you much to check them out.

Just missed the cut:

The Court & Spark - Dead Diamond River EP

This now inactive, formerly San Francisco based band (i.e., another that may not have completely broken up, but you can pretty well count them as done) put out a number of good releases over the years. This is a good sampling of their music, with the undisputed highlight being "Lucia." Check it out sometime.

Collin Herring - Avoiding the Circus

The first release from this Fort Worth based singer/songwriter, which got him a good deal of attention at the time, is not a favorite of mine all the way through. However, "Train on Her Brain" is one of the best unknown alt country rockers that you can find. "Heaven Doesn't Work Out" is not too bad either. Both songs are worth checking out, although in my opinion probably stand out far above the rest of the album. He's got a new album out, his third - Past Life Crashing - which is really growing on me. He unfortunately lost probably the biggest champion of his music in Miles of Music, so if you like what you hear, he's a good guy and makes good music, so please check out his more recent releases. "Punches" from the new album is a great place to start.