Showing posts with label Band of Heathens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Band of Heathens. Show all posts

Mar 24, 2020

Album Review / Trigger Hippy / Full Circle & Then Some

By Travis Erwin
The title of Trigger Hippy’s latest album, Full Circle & Then Some is fitting in so many ways given the journey that the individual members have taken to find each other and form this collective. And, the title also is indicative of the band’s sound which often circles back to replicate sounds of other, memorable music which gives these tracks a jam band kind of vibe, that showcases the talent at hand without fully establishing a definitive essence for Trigger Hippy themselves. On this, the sophomore album for the band, it still feels at times as if the band is trying to establish precisely what they will become. That is not to say the insane amount of talent does not deliver a richness of sound and the strength of this collection is the obvious musicianship and the variation delivered both vocally and in the musical styles.
The album opens with Don’t Wanna Bring You Down, a track with a Southern Rock and Roll Funk vibe, complete with a lively groove and layered harmonies. A hard drum beat ushers in The Butcher’s Daughter which for me conjured thoughts of Dusty Springfield with its narrative soulful vocals.


Strung Out On The Pain is my favorite track among the dozen making up this album. Delivering the aura of old school country song from the late 80’s or early 90s this is a song that you can either two-step through the pain to, or kick back with whiskey in hand and reflect while your body goes numb.
The jam band spirit lands hard on Born To Be Blue. This eight plus minute track is long on ethereal intro mood setting, before the harmonies roll in like ocean waves some two minutes in. Overall, this one felt a bit like Steppenwolf’s Magic Carpet Ride and hit me as a song meant to fire one up and burn it down without ever having to change grooves. The end of the track settles into what I’d describe as a nice underwater conversation with a friendly whale.
The Door opened with a vocal style that brought to mind Harper Valley PTA before layering in a melody reminiscent at times of the recently departed, Kenny Roger’s Love Will Turn You Around and it was such blends of recognizable elements of music past, that kept me from ever completely settling into this album.
The title track, Full Circle and Then Some lands square in the middle of the cuts and as I stated in the opening paragraph is spot on in capturing the theme. The focus lyrically is on an old relationship and comes via a rocking soulful style that is as smooth and easy to listen to, and sing along with. A bluesy harmonica and low, lazy days of summer vocal style, clean and pure and direct delivers Dandelion.
Adding to the plethora of sounds, Goddamn Hurricane comes with a bluegrass vibe that feels a lot like a new track from the deeply missed band, The Gourds. That funky string arrangement vocal style made this my second favorite song among the twelve offerings. Long Lost Friend gives us tinkle keys and a honey sweet vocal groove. Fans of The Tractors and Confederate Railroad will enjoy One Of Them for its boogie beat and harmonious bounce.


Ironically, Low Down Country Song just might be the purest rock song on the album. That said it is still far more real, genuine, and thereby country, than damn near anything you will hear on Mainstream Country radio where everyone is hell-bent to be a Hip-Hop Pop star while dancing in bedazzled jeans on a jacked up truck’s tailgate as they sing about cliched dirt roads. Speaking of roads, Paving The Road closes out the album with an entirely different sound vocally.
Where exactly the road leads for Trigger Hippy remains to be seen, as the band has now given us two albums each with a slightly different lineup. There is promise of a bright future given the incredible talent present across this spectrum of styles and sounds. The harbingers of these talented musicians’ pasts lingers within these songs and while I appreciate the difficulty of launching new creative projects without bringing some elements of that with you, I found myself often comparing the tracks here to something that came before it. Talent and experience are great things to have, and as this band forms more of an identity tied solely to their existence, I expect Trigger Hippy to take aim with even more precision.  
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Travis Erwin is an author and freelance author. His work ranges from the comedic memoir, THE FEEDSTORE CHRONICLES to the emotional novel WAITING ON THE RIVER, and includes the Townes Van Zandt inspired TWISTED ROADS. You can contact Travis via Twitter @TravisErwin or find his music reviews across a number of outlets.

Feb 23, 2016

The Outlaw Country Cruise: Drinking, Singing, and Beards

The Outlaw Country Cruise: Drinking, Singing, and Beards
by Jeremy Harris

When I first heard about The Outlaw Country Cruise I was beyond excited. The lineup was in its infancy at the time and preorders hadn't started yet, but my wife and I knew we were going. As time passed the lineup grew and even had a substitution at one time. When the time came, we were loaded up and ready to spend 20+ hours in the car heading south. Ok, maybe that last part sucked. Once there though, that would change. 

Black Oak Arkansas
Once on board it was time for buffet trip number 1 then off to show number 1. While still docked, Sarah Gayle Meech started things off with her honky-tonk stylings. After her set there was a short break then the launch party began. Weeks before the cruise, some people were debating about whether Sixth Man, who runs the cruise, had make a good decision by selecting The Mavericks to play during this time. It didn't take long to figure out not only was this a good decision, but it was the perfect decision. Who couldn't been better to set the standard and provide the energy to leave Miami better than The Mavericks? Nobody, that's who. 

After the sail away party things pretty well flowed as numerous shows took place with sometimes five shows going on at once in different areas. The hardest part about this entire vacation was picking where to be and how long you could be there until it was time to head to the next show. With so many different bands playing there was always something I wanted to see. 

Nikki Lane
Like… Blackberry Smoke playing an acoustic set with special guests of every act knowing the words to Snake Farm. I'm convinced Ray Wylie Hubbard is very similar to Beetlejuice but instead of having to say his name three times to get him to appear, you say it once then hit the first two chords of Snake Farm. Boom, Ray appears! I heard him at least 5 times doing the song with numerous bands and I wish it would've happened 50 more times. Ray wasn't the only one making special appearances. Hell he wasn't the only one coming up for Snake Farm. He joined Paul Thorn and Waymore's Outlaws (with Shooter Jennings) during one of the best shows of the trip. Roger Alan Wade jumped up and performed a heart-felt version of the Waylon classic "You Asked Me To" and Jesse Dayton also joined in on this show. My god, what a talent. Not only a great song writer, but it'd be hard to find a better guitar player and when he sings George Jones. Damn! Some artists who weren't even booked on the cruise popped in for performances. Jonathan Tyler joining The Band of Heathens was a great surprise. 


Ray Wylie Hubbard with Band of Heathens

Several weeks before the cruise, Sixth Man had sign ups for many on cruise activities with limited area available. These included Battle Shots, best beard contest, and listener's lounge interviews with SiriusXM hosts among other great events. The main reason I'm highlighting these events is because these are the ones I participated in. Battle Shots was a no-brainer. A modified version of Battleship where every hit you received results in you taking a shot. The game was played tournament style and on a boat where drinks are very expensive, free drinks are a bonus. Teams were comprised of five players so my wife, my brother in law and myself teamed up with two of London's finest players, Ben and Lucy. Not only did we get about 20 free shots each during gameplay, we won that son of a bitch. What's the reward for winning you ask? A free margarita poured and placed in you hand at that exact moment you think you can't drink another drop, a 'golden' cup, and a $30 gift certificate per player for the artist merch store. Not a bad deal. Shortly after Battle Shots was the best beard contest. I had been asked earlier to enter but I'm not one of those guys that has a beard to be cool. I'm just lazy and don't like shaving. For some reason while drinking numerous shots and getting three invites from Sixth Man staffers during this time it seemed like a great idea. 

Elizabeth Cook
Best beard was judged by Sarah Gayle Meech, Rosie Flores and Elizabeth Cook. When each contestant went on stage they were asked for their name and where they were from. I've been on cruises before and I know what reaction Ohio people get. Always one idiot who yells out "O-H" and many other idiots who finish it. Not gonna happen this time. "Hi, I'm Jeremy from southern Ohio and Ohio State fucking sucks!" Guess what.... Rosie Flores is an Ohio State fan. I received her lowest score to that point. I was the 12th person up and she wasn't helping. Sarah and Elizabeth came through for me with respective scores of 9 & 10 for a total score of 27 out of 33. Elizabeth described me as a "party in the front and a party in the back, which led to a drunken turn around. 

Shooter Jennings with Waymore's Outlaws

Blackberry Smoke
In the two listener's lounge events my wife and I attended, we were treated to great happenings. In one show we saw Mojo Nixon interview Jim Dandy from Black Oak Arkansas. These were supposed to be interviews with some acoustic performances. Jim Dandy was so long winded that Mojo barely could speak and only got three questions in during the hour. It was funny watching Mojo squirm trying to get a word in. The other we attended featured Steve Earle interviewing and backing up vocally for Lucinda Williams. What a rare treat to witness this and to hear acoustic versions of songs from her latest album. 

You can watch some of the videos Jeremy took here: https://www.youtube.com/user/ohbuffalo38/videos?view=0&shelf_id=1&sort=dd

Dec 30, 2013

FTM's Favorite Albums of 2013: 21-60






22. Band of Heathens - Sunday Morning Record

23. Tim Easton - Not Cool

24. Quaker City Night Hawks - Honcho


25. Caitlin Rose - The Stand-in

26. Charlie Robison - High Times

27. Water Liars - Wyoming

28. Buffalo Gospel - We Can Be Horses

29. William Clark Green - Rose Queen


30. Doc Feldman and the LD50 - Sundowning at the Station

31. Lindi Ortega - Tin Star

32. Robbie Fulks - Gone Away Backward

33. Chris King - 1983

34. JJ Grey & Mofro - This River

35. Shinyribs - Gulf Coast Museum


36. Valerie June - Pushin' Against a Stone

37. The Wood Brothers - The Muse

38. The White Buffalo - Shadows, Greys and Evil Ways

39. Will Hoge - Never Give In

40. The Statesboro Revue - Ramble on Privilege Creek

41. Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis - Cheater's Game

42. Deer Tick - Negativity

43. J. Roddy Walston and The Business - Essential Tremors

44. The Mavericks - In Time

45. Javi Garcia - The Great Controversy

46. Jimbo Mathus - White Buffalo

47. The Winery Dogs - s/t

48. Holly Williams - The Highway

49. Alan Jackson - The Bluegrass Album

50. Red City Radio - Titles

51. Clutch - Earth Rocker


52. Charlie Worsham - Rubberband

53. North Mississippi Allstars - World Boogie is Coming

54. Zane Williams - Overnight Success

55. Cage the Elephant - Melophobia

56. Earl Sweatshirt - Doris

57. Hiss Golden Messenger - Haw

58. Chance the Rapper - Acid Rap

59. Jason Boland and the Stragglers - Dark and Dirty Mile

60. Dallas Moore Band - Blessed Be the Bad Ones

Very Honorable Mentions:
Bonnie Whitmore - There I Go Again, Bow Thayer and Perfect Trainwreck - Eden, The Devil Makes Three - I'm a Stranger Here, George Strait - Love is Everything, The Avett Brothers - Magpie and the Dandelion, The Weeks - Dear Bo Jackson, Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell - Old Yellow Moon, Dawes - Stories Don't End, I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House - Mayberry, Jayke Orvis & the Broken Band - Bless This Mess, Owen Temple - Stories They Tell, Have Gun Will Travel - Fiction, Fact or Folktale?, Lorde - Pure Heroine, The Wild Feathers - s/t, Phosphorescent - Muchacho, Lincoln Durham - Exodus of the Deemed Unrighteous, Star Anna - Go to Hell, The Deadfields - Often Wrong Never in Doubt, Left Lane Cruiser - Rock Them Back to Hell, Hank 3 - Brothers of the 4x4, Kellie Pickler - The Woman I Am, D.B. Rielly - Cross My Heart + Hope to Die, Amanda Shires - Down Fell the Doves, Brett Detar - Too Free to Live, Blitzen Trapper - VII, Mando Saenz - Studebaker, Cody Canada - Some Old, Some New, Maybe a Cover or Two, Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City, Childish Gambino - Because the Internet

Sep 17, 2013

New Music Out Today




I hope to review this one, but if I don't get around to it, just know that it's excellent. 
Laid-back, groovy, southern folk-rocking goodness. It currently resides inside my top 5 for the year.
RIYL: Wilco, The Band, Govt Mule, North MS Allstars, Reckless Kelly.





This is a strong collection that defies the general assumption that tribute albums suck. There's not a weak song in the bunch, and the cuts I like most are from the artists I'm least familiar with. JD McPherson's soulful cover of "Why Lady Why" is my favorite at the moment, but Bob Schneider and Texas Bluegrass Massacre's cool take on "Lady Down on Love" is a close second. There are also big name Americana/Alt-country artists like Jason Isbell, Lucero and Turnpike Troubadours in the mix, so really, there's something for everybody who's a frequent FTM reader.
RIYL: Alabama or any of the artists on the tribute, obviously.





The under-appreciated Godfather of swamp-soul has still got it.
RIYL: Otis Redding, Ry Cooder, North MS Allstars, Guy Clark, Mavis Staples.

Aug 30, 2013

YouTube Gems: The Band of Heathens

From their killer forthcoming album, Sunday Morning Record, here are Gordy and Ed of The Band of Heathens with "Shotgun."


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