Roots rock and blues episode today with the new music from Left Lane Cruiser from Indiana and Italian duet Devils. Greg Cartwright is back with his new project Hypos with Scott McMicken. Seth James from Texas created a very cool tribute to Delbert McClinton. We heard Mike Zito in a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover, and now we also check out his own new tune. We introduce trio from New York Jamie McLean Band and UK band Hanks Company Band and Mint Biscuit.
Left Lane Cruiser and 20 Watt Tombstone – Laid to the Bone
Left Lane Cruiser – Juice To Get Loose
The Devils – Divine Is The Illusion
The Devils – White Collar Wolf
Arrogants – Stoned Blues
The Hypos – Tore My Whole World Down
Seth James – Maybe Someday Baby
Delbert McClinton – Maybe Someday Baby
Arthur Adams – Do What Cha Doin’
Mike Zito – Nobody Moves Me Like You Do
Jamie McLean Band – Open Up
Eramus Hall – Your Love Is My Desire
Alexis Corner – Blue Mink
Hanks Company Band – Manifesting Prayer
Mint Biscuit – Laguna Bugera
Guadalupe Plate – Stabat Master
Today’s show is dedicated to Larry Ramos, the singer who was a part of The Association, starting with their third album Insight Out. He passed away last week. We remember him with two tunes, but we also celebrate some new music as well. We introduce The Record Company, a band from Los Angeles. On the other band, in Brooklyn NYC we have a new really fun band called Screamin’ Rebel Angels. Greg Oblivian’s Reigning Sound have a new single. Los Puchos is a new name from Phoenix AZ. They put their music out exclusively on cassette tapes. Tame Impala have a new live LP. We also check out two recent LPs by Brimstone Howl. They were a great band from Omaha who broke up some 7 years ago, but before they split, they recorded two albums. One back home in Omaha and the other one in Detroit with Jim Diamond. Those albums were shelved and waited until recently only to show up in limited edition vinyl. John Ziegler, vocalist from that band also has a new band called The Lupines.
Oblivians are a band from Memphis, the godfathers of the garage underground scene in that city that just broke up when they were getting to be known worldwide in the late nineties. They called it quits after a great collaboration with Quintron in 1997. The band went separate ways, Greg Cartwright established himself as one of the most important songwriters with the new band Reigning Sound, Jack Yarber became the king of the minimalist garage and Eric Friedl was busy running the famous Goner Records label and playing gutter punk with True Sons of Thunder. This year they decided to ditch their real surnames again and return to The Oblivians.
Eamon McGrath comes from Canada. He grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, Canadian Western province, North of the US state of Montana, with lots of prairies. This is where he started to come up with his first songs, recording them in his house and distributing them around on cd-rs to friends and fans. There is about 15 to 20 of those proto albums that he made in very small amount of copies and it is unclear what exactly is contained in those releases. Perhaps some songs repeated in multiple versions, but what we can tell for sure, they were all recorded relatively cheaply in lo-fi technology.
New names in today’s show is the Portuguese duet called New Kind of Mambo and The Horrors from Cedar Rapids in Iowa. New Kind of Mambo has a new ep on their bandcamp page (free download) and Horrors have a new album called Vent produced by one of the heroes of this show Greg Cartwright. Tough Shits is another new band today with a self titled album. Deer Tick have new ep called Tim and we check it out in today’s show, by exploring connections between John McCauley and Paul Westerberg. Howe Gelb expanded the line up of his Giant Sand and now they are Giant Giant Sand – 12 people total in the new line up. Giant indeed. Freedy Johnston, Jon Dee Graham and Susan Cowsill put the record out as The Hobart Brothers and Lil’ Sis Hobart. We heard them all together for the first time a year ago in Flashlite 123 and now their first official album At Least We Have Each Other is out.
The first block in today’s show is dedicated to the three (fake) brothers – Eric, Greg and Jack Oblivian. We know Jack has a new album Rat City, but the other two brothers are shaking the rock’n’roll scene with new records as well. Greg’s Reigning Sound has a new digital record called Abdication For Your Love and Eric has a really exceptional new record with his band True Sons of Thunder. Their older colleague from Memphis, legendary Steve Cropper has a tribute record, dedicated to Lowman Pete Pauling of The “5” Royales fame. New Jersey singer songwriter Neal Casal is back also with the new record. Canadian lady Kathleen Edwards is a new name for us, but we really like what she’s doing.
Harlan T Bobo hails from Memphis and in the past several years, he established himself as the most consistent songwriter on the rock scene, with only his Memphis buddy Greg Cartwright to rival that crowning position. But, while Greg has a strong pop streak, Harlan T Bobo takes things more seriously it seems. I guess, what I’m trying to say here, it’s hard to imagine Harlan writing songs for anyone or anything else besides his albums. The approach is hundred percent personal and we can only be grateful to be in it for the ride. His first album recorded back in 2003 was a painful breakup story. Harlan T Bobo is now a married man and blissful intro Life is Sweet accounts to his new found peace in family life. First half of this short record (only 30 minutes), is mostly folk oriented, interrupted only with the perfectly twisted pop tune Hamster in a Cage, which indeed sounds written in the key of Greg Cartwright. But things get twisted later on with two uncompromising rockers back to back Bad Boyfriends and Energy. And then we have an epic Drunk which is by far the longest on the record and key that creates a perfect contrast with the disarmingly beautiful opening song. And then, at the very end, as if demonstrating once for all that Bobo is equally talented in multiple musical genres, the record officially ends with francophone chancone Mille Chatte. Yes, Bobo is definitely the strongest songwriter today.
Greg Cartwright has grown into one of the most skilful songwriters today. This year, he put his main band Reigning Sound on a break, reunited with The Oblivians for a few shows, and formed a new band Parting Gifts with Coco Hames of The Ettes. The resulting album, Strychnine Dandelion is a rousing pile of basic rock’n’roll fury with Strange Disposition standing out as an obvious favorite.
This is one of the heaviest shows with new materials if you consider what rockers we have with new records this time: Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Mike Watt, Steve Wynn and Greg Cartwright. What a line up, huh? So, let’s see – the Boss dug out old sessions for the Darkness at The Edge of The Town album and has them out now as a double disc called The Promise. Costello recorded an album called National Ransom with T. Bone Burnett in LA and Nashville. Mike Watt has a new conceptual record called Hyphenated-Man and it’s about his life as a middle aged punk. Steve Wynn gathered his Miracle Three over in Richmond to record a new album which they call Northern Aggression. That one’s somewhat of a loose concept too – Yanks belting out in the Southern man’s land. Greg is here with a new band called The Parting Gifts, apparently an one time gig for him and Coco Hames of The Ettes.
Greg Cartwright established himself as one of the most respected rock’n’roll characters in the recent years. His records are consistently great and he took several bands under his wing to help out, produce and write a few songs. At the same time, he continues to put out great music with his own band Reigning Sound. Although I prefer the riotous stomp of their previous album Too Much Guitar, the new album Love and Curses definitely has its charms and as always, takes Greg into new places, a guy who keeps self-developing with every new record.