Bloggerhythms

The Mother Truckers is a perfect moniker for this Austin based bar band. Their name screams to the world that they are both a country band and an irreverent bunch. Their loud country music often crosses the border into rock 'n roll especially when lead guitarist Josh Zee lets loose with one of his wailing solos on almost every song. During their October 26th show at Austin's Continental Club I immediately realized this was no ordinary bar band. Zee has been voted the city’s best electric guitarist, Teal Collins was recognized as Austin’s best female voice, and the quartet was honored as "Best Roots Rock Band" at the most recent Austin Music Awards. Their lively gig, in which Collins was the most dynamic personality, enticed me to purchase their 2002 debut CD immediately after their show. Something Worth Dying For is a party in your own home. The sentiments expressed in their often humorous lyrics are far removed from anything...

I learned a long, long, time ago that there is no correlation between how much talent musicians have when compared to the amount of radio airplay they receive and the amount of concert tickets and CDs they sell. Such is the case with veteran rocker and singer-songwriter Jimmy Lafave who, unfortunately, is not very well known beyond his Austin, TX base of operations. I heard great things about Lafave after arriving in Austin so I decided to take in his performance at one of the city's premier music venues, Threadgill's of South Austin, on Saturday, October 27, 2007. Despite his relative anonymity this gentleman of song is highly regarded in the music world. He has even opened for one of his fans, Lucinda Williams. Lafave's music is a combination of folk, country, blues, and rock. He and his band can easily spread their musical wings over any of those genres. His band at Threadgill's included John Inmon on electric guitar and Radoslav Lorkovic on keyboards. T...

Austin is both the capital of The Lone Star State and home to the Longhorns of the University of Texas. It's also a very cosmopolitan town proud of its reputation as a home for popular music of all genres. The official website of The South By Southwest Music and Media Conference states that "Central Austin boasts more original music nightclubs in a concentrated area than any other city in the world." The moderately sized city of over 600,000 people has two hundred venues featuring live music. Austin has more music venues per capita than New York, Los Angeles, Memphis, and Nashville. Both Janis Joplin and Stevie Ray Vaughan (for whom they erected a memorial) cut their musical teeth in this central Texas city's music clubs. The city promotes itself with the copyrighted slogan "The Live Music Capital Of The World." There are many reasons why Austin can be truly considered one of American music's true showcases. Here are a few. Every March the f...