Jon Dee Graham - The Great Battle
In "Big Sweet Life", the gratitude-infused romp that galvanizes his 1999 album Summerland, Jon Dee Graham erases the line that separates dreams from real life. Instead of waiting for things to happen that never do (something he admits he's done before), the Austin roots-rocker,
Drive-By Truckers - The Dirty South
The Drive-By Truckers established themselves as the fiercest contemporary incarnation of southern rock in 2001 with Southern Rock Opera, a sprawling, 20-song, two-CD opus that weighed in on what they referred to as "the duality of the southern thing." Last year they followed up with
Various Artists - Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo
Before he got sick in 2003, Alejandro Escovedo often lamented in interviews that he couldn't understand why no one else recorded his songs. The reason was obvious: His sound -- a peculiar melange of punk rock, chamber music and corrida that sounded like a Norteno version of the Velvet
Uncle Dave Macon - Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy
"Now, why can't their records sound as good as that show?" The question is instantly familiar to fans of every sort of down-home music, from old-timey to acoustic blues to thudding roots-rock -- 134 years after the birth of Tennessee's David Harrison
Ray Condo: 1950 to 2004
Renowned as a firecracker performer with little regard for his health, the future or musical fashion, Ray Condo was just shy of his 54th birthday when he died of a heart attack in Vancouver on April 15.
Born Ray Tremblay in Hull, Quebec, Condo earned his nickname ("one-man
Eric Ambel - Lord of the Lakeside
"I tell bands I record with today that if you can quit playing music, you probably should," says Eric Ambel. "But that was never an option for me."
Over the course of three decades, Ambel has been, among other things: A founding member of the iconic