I didn't know Kirk Rundstrom personally. I wish I had. He had a real presence over the Lawrence music community.
This was my first favorite song of theirs years ago.
Listen:Split Lip Rayfield - The Day the Train Jumped the Tracks
Support:
The Kirk Rundstrom Cancer Fund
I'd been meaning to see the Black Ale Sinners for probably over a year. Every time they had a show, it seems like something else was going on and I figured that, them being a local group, I'd be able to catch them later. Well, Saturday, I happened to walk by a poster advertising their last show ever was going to be that night. I had been planning something else, but I couldn't put it off again, so I went.
They're a nice hard driving honky tonk and old time sextet. Many of the members switched between instruments, but usually at the same time, leading to two noticeably distinct sounds. The lead guitarist switched between archtop guitar and banjo and the steel player never played steel during a banjo song. Also, the drummer played washboard during the banjo songs, but played single snare during the archtop/steel songs. Another guy switched off between mandolin and fiddle, although his switching wasn't in synch with the others. In addition to the plethora of instruments, they also sang quite a bit of harmony. The harmony was good, but a bit gritty.
They played mostly originals, which this album features exclusively, but they also played a few standards, including a couple Buck Owens songs and a Roger Miller.
This album showcases their more honky tonk side (hence the title) and doesn't feature any banjo or washboard as far as I can tell. Many of these original tunes have a ring of familiarity about them, one of the hallmarks of good songwriting, I think. These guys are also obviously having fun, which brings out the best in their tunes. They fall into a nice place between the sometimes over-seriousness of Dale Watson and the snarky "irony" of so many indie rockers turned country.
Listen:Black Ale Sinners - Highway 10
Buy:
Email them at blackalesinners@blackalesinners.com
I picked this CD up in the used bin at Love Garden for like 4 bucks. But when I get up to the counter they give me a shrink-wrapped copy from behind the counter. Turns out Love Garden co-owner Kory Willis is in the band as is fellow Midday Rambler Mike Horan. I don't really know much about the band; they're mentioned in the archives of our local paper a couple times in passing. Al Trout is listed on the web page of Rural Grit Records, best known for the Wilders. I can't find a picture of the cover to download and post. The only mentions of the band that Google turns up are to the lyrics of a song about them. I don't even know how or where you could buy this CD. But I like it.
I'm posting their version of "Chinatown" because that song is one of my favorite songs. It's a song I've collected several versions of over the years. Hokum, western swing, hip-hop brass band, I forget what else. You might be subjected to some more of them sometime.
Listen:Al Trout's Hokum Washboard Band - Chinatown
Buy:???
Split Lip Rayfield is probably the most prominant band from around my parts (at least that is germain to this blog). Guitarist Kirk Rundstrom was recently diagnosed with esophageal cancer and the band has been on hiatus since.
This is their most recent album and still includes mandolin player Wayne Gottstine who left the band last summer. The other two members are Eric Mardis on banjo and Jeff Eaton on gas tank bass (yes, a bass made out of a gas tank). Gottstine and Rundstrom wrote about half of the tracks each, with one (which happens to be one of my favorites) by Mardis. The bluegrass pickin' on this record isn't your grandad's (or even your dad's), rather it's pure metal mayhem on bluegrass instruments. The punk drive doesn't over-shadow the instrumental skills, though, particularly Mardis' fine banjo work. The raw four-part harmonies are another sweet spot on this album.
Listen:Split Lip Rayfield - C'mon Get Your Gun
Buy:
From Bloodshot
From Amazon
The Midday Ramblers are a really good local bluegrass band. They are probably the most well known bluegrass outfit in Lawrence, probably because of their willingness to promote themselves in the college/rock music scene. They're a pretty traditional, one-mic bluegrass foursome, but they regularly play at places like the Replay Lounge, a seedy punk bar that's also alt-country friendly. Three of the four members of the group have also been active in more rock-oriented groups, so I guess it makes some sense.
This is their third album, and features mostly songs written by members of the band, but also a few standards. They show off both technical virtuosity ("John Hardy" and "Banjo Tickle") and quasi-jam band bounce ("Skeeter Bit") as well as vocal harmonies ("The Lost Soul").
The bending sound the banjo makes in this song is actually the banjo player retuning his strings. He's not fretting, he's just turning the tuning pegs to get the right note. It's pretty fun to watch, too.
Listen:The Midday Ramblers - John Hardy.mp3
Buy:
From The Midday Ramblers
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, my local music scene found itself blessed with the seemingly permanent addition of former Ninth Ward residents Mike West and Katie Euliss, aka Truckstop Honeymoon, to our local scene. I've only been able to catch them once in the almost six months since, but I'm hoping to catch them soon, maybe outside at the Gaslight, like the show I just missed Monday.
Truckstop Honeymoon is a hard and raucous bluegrass/country/blues-holler married duo. They take their name from their wedding night stay at the Tiger Truck Stop in rural Louisiana. Their music is loud and fast and slow and soft and also includes some very humourous and sometimes macabre lyrics. I've included two tracks to show their range.
PS: They're playing this Friday night, 14 April, at the Uptown Theatre in KCMO with Drakkar Sauna, The Wilders, and others to benefit Kirk Rundstrom, singer/guitarist of Splitlip Rayfield, who is battling cancer. You should go.
Listen:Truckstop Honeymoon - Weary Blues From Waitin.mp3Truckstop Honeymoon - No Beer On Sunday.mp3
Buy:
From Mike West
