Alright kids, shit’s about to get serious up in here. Tomorrow’s regular Top 5 posting will be posted as normal, but after that we’re shifting into SxSW mode. I’m not entirely sure what’s about to happen but I am guessing it will consist of a lot of music, a lot of whiskey, not a lot of food and an effort to capture it on ninebullets, twitter and facebook. If things go according to plan, there will be daily recaps, videos and interviews posted here with lots and lots of microblogging taking place on twitter and facebook. If things go awry then ninebullets will probably be populated by a lot of incoherence until I get back to Florida. Either way, it should be fun.

So keep checking the site, follow us on twitter (@Autopsy IV, @RomeoSidVicious & @Kasey), and follow me on Facebook. If you happen to be in Austin for the weekend, come to our showcase and say hi.

See y’all on the other side.

The Drive-By Truckers return today with their 10th studio album, The Big To-Do, and they managed to bring some of the rawk back, as well. I gotta be honest, after the last two studio releases I was pretty sure my torrid love affair with the band was in its setting sun. It seemed that marriages, kids, label disputes and time had worn the edge off the band, and I really wasn’t digging the new direction very much. That feeling was reinforced when The Fine Print came out and I was reminded of how good the band had been and how subpar I felt that the last two albums had been. Then I read somewhere that Patterson said their new album was gonna be a “return to rock” and, despite my efforts otherwise, I started to look forward to the release of The Big To-Do.

So I guess the question to ask is, is this the return to rock the band promised? The best answer I can come up with is that it depends on your reference point. I mean, it’s not the rock record that SRO, Decoration Day or The Dirty South were, but when set beside A Blessing and A Curse and Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, its rock is undeniable and quite welcome. The standout tracks on the album are Cooley’s homage to a stripper, “Birthday Boy”, Patterson’s working man’s anthem, “This Fucking Job” and a redone (I know this song from somewhere) version of “After The Scene Dies”. There are stories of excess like “The Fourth Night of My Drinking”, of murder like “The Wig He Made Her Wear”, and a particularly touching ballad to Cooley’s son called “Eyes Like Glue” closes the album. There are moments where you’re left scratching your head, though. Both of Shonna’s contributions feel out of place and really kill the album’s pace, as does Patterson’s “The Flying Wallendas”.

In the end, yes, I think this is a return to rock for the Truckers. I don’t think we’ll ever get another album like The Dirty South or its predecessors from the band and that’s okay. They’re not those people (or that band) anymore, and as people change and grow, so does their music. I’m just glad to see we’re not gonna be stuck with ABAAC’s and BTCD’s from here on out, and with that in mind I’ll say The Big To-Do is essential listening.

Drive-By Truckers – This Fucking Job
Drive-By Truckers – Birthday Boy

The Drive-By Truckers Official Site, The Drive-By Truckers on myspace, Buy The Big To-Do

Stream the entire album:

In the time I’ve been writing about these guys here on ninebullets they’ve gone from a little lovable band from the Midwest to “band to watch” status. Having completed nationwide tours with a whole list of ninebullets favorites such as Jason Isbell, Clutch, and William Elliot Whitmore, Bloomington, IL’s Backyard Tire Fire are back in 2010 on their own label and with a new album, Good To Be.

In previous reviews/articles I’ve routinely mentioned that these guys could have easily slid into the Capricorn-era sound. I can not say that about Good To Be. There may be the occasional Capricorn overture in their sound, but they’re wholly modern with their current sound. Problem is, the Capricorn-era feel was one of the things I genuinely loved about Backyard Tire Fire, so the first few listens of Good To Be left me wanting. After multiple listens, as tends to be the case, that wanting started to fade and I began to listen to the album for what it was, not what I expected it to be, and I finally warmed up to it.

The album opens with, IMO, it’s best song, “Roadsong #39″. It’s a fantastic grooving piece about (I imagine) running around the country in a rock and roll band. There is a line in the song that I love that says, “there’s a smell that I know at the end of the show, it’s sweaty and it’s smoky and it’s ripe and it’s rock and roll.” I think anyone who attends shows on a regular basis knows the origin of that line. “A Thousand Gigs Ago” treads in the touring band/van mindset, offering an uncompromising glimpse into the reality of being in a small touring band. Thing is, however, Micah Schnabel does it 100 times better, but I say that not to slam Backyard Tire Fire. Hell, I like the band, but I feel like they got lazy with this album. Specifically, I think they got lyrically lazy with this album and think that helps to explain why I liked the album more as I listened to it. See, I’m a lyrics guy, so the first time I listen to your album I am totally focused on the lyrics and I move out from there.

With that said, I’d say Good To Be is a steak dinner with Chinese food for lyrics. Musically, it has great grooves, it’s catchy and utterly enjoyable. Lyrically, it’s fine and totally “sing-along-able” but pretty thin under close inspection. Hopefully, this is just a blip, ’cause I *loved* the lyrical content of their last album, The Places We Lived. Regardless, this is 4 gazillion times better than Lady Antebellum and should be checked out.

Backyard Tire Fire – Roadsong #39
Backyard Tire Fire – Brady
Backyard Tire Fire – A Thousand Gigs Ago

Backyard Tire Fire’s Official Site, Backyard Tire Fire on myspace, Buy Good To Be

Before Sunday night (March 07, 2010) I had missed every chance to see Tim Barry play live. Circumstances had aligned against me and I was either out of town, sick, without transportation, or possibly dead (I got better) every time he rolled through Houston. In a very short amount of time I realized what I had been missing. Before I talk about any of the specifics let me make clear that this was the most intense show I can remember seeing bar none. It takes that spot from some great shows with absolutely crazy stories attached to them, like waking up in New Orleans on a tour bus, that are now put to shame by a show where nothing really all that crazy went down. The only way to chalk it up is to the sheer intensity that Tim Barry radiates on and off the stage. Now lets get on to the story…

So me and my brother showed up way too early because I thought the show would sell out. (As a side note: Fuck you Houston for not selling this show out. You bunch of bitches!) So we stood outside smoking and talking while trying to stay out of the possible line of fire from some asshole calling himself “Pony” who was waving around what he referred to as “My nine”. I thought he was the manager or one of the owners which would make his asinine behavior legal so we didn’t call the cops on the jackoff. We should have. He’s not even employed by the club. And eventually decided to wander down the street and grab some food and hope that “Pony”, who actually said “Man fuck that book (The Outsiders) I’ve been going by Pony since before that asshole write that book”, didn’t kill anyone and ruin the show before we got back.

When we managed to wander back I caught up with Tim and, much to my surprise, was taken aback at his humility. We hung out for a while before the show and I got permission to shoot some pics of the show as well as met some pretty cool people including a dude who had bicycled from Tampa, FL to Houston, TX and had come to see the show. Tim deflected most of the compliments people had about his music preferring to talk about life and wander through random topics. It was more like meeting an old friend for the first time rather than meeting a rock star.

That all changed when Tim took the stage. “I’m Tim Barry and I’m from Richmond Virginia” While there was a lot of intensity about him before the show, especially when he talked about the incident where he broke his hand, that intensity took on a whole new form when he picked us guitar. It’s almost impossible to describe him on stage to someone who hasn’t seen him play. He obviously enjoys what he is doing but there is an underlying “fuck you” that’s just waiting to break through. It almost felt like I was watching someone about to fight with themselves. With the crowd yelling along with every song the energy in the club was something that must be experienced to be believed.

All of that was almost destroyed when the aforementioned asshole “Pony” got on stage between songs and began ranting about why he didn’t understand why Tim would tour with those pussies on the Revival Tour and he was out of their league and much worse. Being as that the Revival Tour is put on by one of Tim’s best friends and musicians on it with him are all friends of his you can imagine that this went over like a ton of bricks. But Tim restrained himself and “Pony’s” friends pretty much got him out the door, into his car, and told him to fuck off before coming in to finish the show. Tim handled it well even taking time to say he understood that the guy was trying to compliment him and just went about it in the exact wrong way. And then he started playing again…

There were beers, there were shots, and there was even an asshole but most of all Tim Barry took the stage, owned the crowd, and played like a man possessed. If you have seen him you know what I mean. The tense arms, the spittle flying, the random “fuck you” between verses or songs, and him leaving all the blood, sweat, and tears on the stage. Like many shows it was over way too soon. We all said our goodbyes and parted ways into that moist Texas air. I know I normally share stories about the bands I cover and whatnot but the stories I have from this show, outside of the show itself, aren’t the kind of stories a body is inclined to make public. They seem, as weird as it sounds, too intimate to shove into a few words and post on the intertubes. So you’ll have to be satisfied with this write up and the pics I took. Quoth Tim Barry: That’s all I got…Goodnight!

Feel free to stop by my site to see all the pics from the show. I need to crop a couple a little differently but they are all posted. And as usual if Virgil or Tim, or hell anyone, wants to use the pics to promote Tim then just drop me a line and they’re yours to use.

Tim Barry – Exit Wounds (Live)
Tim Barry – Wait At Milano (Live)
Tim Barry – Avoiding Catatonic Surrender (Live)

Tim Barry’s Home Page
Tim Barry @ Suburban Home Records

Here is a real treat to start off a Friday morning. This is a bootleg of a show the Truckers did way back in 2002 when Jason was still in the band. What’s interesting about this show is that it was the first of two shows they did which are rumored to be where the whole idea for the Dirt Underneath acoustic tour came from. Personally, I love how you can hear the crickets and frogs in the background throughout the show. Get’s me ready for summer.

You can download the entire show here and listen to the samples below while it downloads.

Drive-By Truckers – Outfit
Drive-By Truckers – When The Pin Hits The Shell
Drive-By Truckers – The Living Bubba
Drive-By Truckers – Zip City
Drive-By Truckers – The Assassin

Darren Hoff was part of the beloved and now defunct Austin-based country juggernaut The Weary Boys. It’s been nearly two years and a day job since the Wearies flamed out and Darren is the last one to surface with a new project. Better late than never, I say.

When it came time for Darren to form a band he went back to where he started, calling upon folks he’d met and known via the Austin music scene. Guitarist Ben Massey had been a mainstay in the area since relocating from Maryland, while drummer Brandon Burke was initiated almost by accident when he agreed to play drums on the eve of a show. Keyboardist Jim Hawkins came to know Darren through Darren’s aforementioned day job at a music store. He was originally just working studio sessions, adding keys and acoustic guitar accompaniment to songs in the studio, but somewhere along the line it was decided that he should become a full share member. Finally, along came guitarist-freshly-turned-bassist Gregg White, and The Hard Times were formed.

I’ll be honest, when I first started listening to Darren’s album I wanted it to be The Weary Boys, and when it wasn’t anywhere close I was disappointed in the cd and put it away. As time passed I got to thinking about what I wrote when I was reviewing the new Lucero album, asking if it was fair for fans to expect certain things from bands and what was the band’s obligation to those expectations. Is it fair for me to summarily dismiss Darren’s album because it wasn’t The Weary Boys?

No. It wasn’t. So I pulled the album off the cd rack and took it back to the car.

What Darren did, while ignoring my personal desires to hear a new Wearies album, was make an utterly fantastic country music record. While some people might be put off by the fact that it doesn’t really break any new ground, I am not one of them and on closer listen it turns out that this record is pretty much exactly what I should have expected from Darren, based on his songs from The Weary Boys. All of which makes me feel like even more of an asshole. So if you’re a Weary Boys fan like me, I’d suggest you check your prejudices at the door and check this album out. If you’re a fan of the country music your dad listened to, then you’re gonna enjoy this album.

Darren Hoff & The Hard Times – Out Into Nothing
Darren Hoff & The Hard Times – Stop Breaking Down
Darren Hoff & The Hard Times – Oh Midnight

Darren Hoff & The Hard Times on myspace, Buy Darren Hoff & The Hard Times

Reckless & Ragged: Neighborhood Theatre – Charlotte, NC  3/5/2010

People who follow the Texas/Red Dirt music scene are familiar with the friendly “rivalry” that exists between Reckless Kelly and Cross Canadian Ragweed. The pranks these two bands have played on each other range from the harmless to the down-right disgusting. Through all of the jokes, they are the best of friends in music, having played together at countless music festivals and charitable events. When it was announced that they’d be making a run together through the southeast, I was pumped to see a date in Charlotte.

Reckless kicked off the evening and played for a little over an hour. Their new album, Somewhere In Time, was released last month. It is made up entirely of songs written by Pinto Bennett, the songwriter from Idaho who had a huge influence on the band in their early days. The set list consisted of a few tunes from the new album, including personal favorites Little Blossom and Pure Quill as well as some of their older songs, Baby’s Gone Blues, Drink Your Whiskey Down and Nobody’s Girl. They closed their set with an excellent cover of Alejandro Escovedo’s Castanets. This song has been in the rotation for the band for a while, but they’ve not got an awesome jam at the end that puts a great exclamation point on their set.

Ragweed was up next and the crowd was ready. They have built a nice following in the southeast as evidenced by the size of the crowds at their concerts here. I’ve seen them a handful of times and the crowds here are larger each time. The one thing that stood out to me was their sound – it was loud and just plain awesome. They are really on top of their game right now. Front man Cody Canada kicked it off with what they call the “Trifecta”, three songs (Overtable, Overtable Interlude and Pretty Lady) that are all strung together on their new album, Happiness and All The Other Things. A highlight of the show was the cover of Rosalie, a song written by Randy Pease about his beloved guitar. Randy was an integral part of the original Oklahoma red dirt music scene where Ragweed got their start. Cody explained that their next album, their last with Universal South, will be made up of songs written by their old Oklahoma friends (Medicine Show, Mike McClure and the Great Divide, etc.) so that their friends will get the royalties. About midway through the set, Cody Braun, Reckless’ fiddle player, came out to join in on Anywhere But Here. I wasn’t sure how a fiddle would go with Ragweed’s sound but I must say it was pretty cool. Braun came back out to join on Bad Habit, a song requested by someone in the crowd but Canada said he didn’t know the lyrics. He wasn’t lying as he completely forgot them halfway through the song. He played it off nicely and moved on. Another great moment came next when Braun brothers Cody and Willy covered Buddy Miller’s That’s How Strong My Love Is. Later, both bands were on stage for Ragweed’s Time to Move On, which included a great guitar solo by Reckless’ guitar player David Abyeta. The fun continued with the Ragweed classic Boys From Oklahoma and then Crazy Eddies Last Hurrah, a Reckless song that has been covered a lot by Ragweed. This version included Willy Braun on lead vocals with both bands playing. The night ended with a cover of Chuck Berry’s Promised Land, a song you might not think you’d ever from either of these bands. However, they pulled it off nicely.

Overall, just an awesome night of music from two bands that know how to play great music live. One of the cool things that Ragweed does at most of their concerts is offer a USB wristband that contains songs from the show. Absolutely brilliant – it’s very popular among fans and it’s another way for the band to get their music heard. I’ve included a couple of tracks from the show – enjoy.

Cross Canadian Ragweed – Dimebag
Cross Canadian Ragweed – Time To Move On

In recent weeks both Micah Schnabel (Two Cow Garage) and his father John have been caught on stages sporting the super hip and extra snazzy ninebullets.net tshirt.

I know that with this relevation you’re wondering where you can get yours. Don’t be fooled by the imitators which do not exist! The only place to get the officially sanctioned super hip and extra snazzy ninebullets.net tshirt is from this here web site and more specifically in this here post (or one of the 10 others from the past). As an added bonus each order comes with a few stickers and the satisfaction that you contributed to my whiskey fund at SxSW. So get to ordering kids. I leave for Austin next Wednesday and we don’t want me to be sober.

Sizes

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Autopsy IV here, bogarting Romeo’s Top 5 gimmick again. I just can’t help it. Last time I hopped on this gravy train I did the top 5 guilty pleasures. In that post I said, “our Guilty Pleasures do as much to define our musical personality as the bands’ t-shirts we proudly display.” That line and a few whiskey drinks one night got me to thinking about my life and music’s role in it. When I really think about it, there are moments that changed my musical trajectory, and in those moments there is a song. A moment, a song and a new path. I am looking for the 5 songs that shifted you musically over your lifetime and made you who you are. Furthermore, I want to know how it changed you.

At the risk of over-romanticizing this topic, these are my who’s and how’s:

Michael Martin Murphey – Wildfire: This is the first song that ever created an emotional reaction in me. I don’t recall how old I was, but it was pretty young yet I remember it clear as day. I had been put to bed by my parents and they were listening to that album. It was the first time I truly recall listening to the lyrics of a song (now, i am totally a lyrics guy), and I cried for that lady and that horse that night.

Ratt – Round and Round: This was the first song that ever gave me a musical identity. I can remember hearing this song for the first time clear as day. I was lying on the floor watching Solid Gold and Ratt performed “Round and Round”. I was 11 years old and I immediately I knew that metal was my calling.

Dead Milkmen – Big Time Operator: This song came to me as I was entering the eighth grade and in the midst of forming both my real identity as well as a musical one. I’d already started listening to the Dead Kennedy’s and a collection of other “skater music” at the time but I still wasn’t sure if I liked the music or if I liked the idea of it. Enter the Dead Milkmen and I was sure. To this day, I don’t think 6 months pass that I do not listen to one of their albums.

The Violent Femmes – Kiss Off: Really, I could have chosen any number of Femmes songs for this post but I think Kiss Off does a really good job of paraphrasing being a teenager and it always (and to tell the truth, still does) resonated with me to the core. I’ve said this before and I’ll reiterate here, if I ever have a child I’ll give them the entire Femmes discography on their 15th birthday. Honestly, from 15 to 23 the music of the Violent Femmes was as good a friend to me as any person.

The Drive-By Truckers – Sinkhole: This song was the one that sent me on my current music trajectory which ultimately gave birth to this web site and everything that I am doing today. So, currently you could say it’s changed my life more than any other on this list.

ROMEOSIDVICIOUS’ TOP 5 and Mix-Tape:

The Cure – All Cats Are Grey: I took some liberty with the “songs that changed you” idea and this song is one that was playing at a time I realized I had changed. Actually the whole of Faith was on repeat for most of the night. The night in question was the night before someone I was madly in love with left for college. I was older by a couple of years, had a job, and all that good stuff. She was destined to do more with her life than me. We were going to keep seeing each other after she left since it was only an hour’s drive but that night, the last night before she left, after I snuck into her room to spend the night, breaking her parent’s rules for the first time ever, I realized it was our last night together. We spent more nights in the same room over the next couple of years but not together like we were before. I remember this song playing as we lie, half awake, in each others arms making promised we knew we would never keep.

Leonard Cohen – Who By Fire: This is one of the songs that helped shaped my musical tastes. I won’t go into all the history but growing up I was allowed a very limited set of genres in the house and upon discovering other kinds of music sort of went crazy. When I first heard Mr. Cohen singing Who By Fire I am pretty sure I was high on substances best left unsaid and damn sure I was coming down. It fit perfectly at the moment and took me out of my comfort zone of hardcore punk and opened my eyes to another world of music.

Social Distortion – Sick Boy: I heard this one in 1990, the year I got my first tattoo, and it led me to the shady back-alleys of punk rock. Much to the dismay of many a friend and most of my family this song was what set me down the path that world wind through punk, industrial, goth and eventually to where you find me today: ashamed of none of the music I listen to and still playing it all way too loud for the neighbors and sometimes too loud for my kids.

Minor Threat – Guilty of Being White: This song didn’t so much change me as it helped me realize that the whole “politically correct” movement was a farce. I was entrenched in punk by the time I came across Ian MacKaye and the joy that was Minor Threat. While I lived, admittedly superficially, to piss off “the man” I was also sucked into not offending anyone if they were different from me. So pissing off
rich white dudes was alright but I wouldn’t offend a black dude or a Mexican and so on. This song finally helped me realize that if I was going to be a misanthrope then that’s what I should be and I should stop worrying about being white because, you see, my desire to not offend didn’t come from caring that people were different but from a deep belief that somehow those with a different skin color were worse off than me. Thanks, in part, to this song I was able to shed my, so-called, reverse racism and just be a misanthrope altogether. Thankfully I have since outgrown misanthropy.

Lucero – Tonight Ain’t Gonna Be Good: Good ol’ Lucero. This was the first song I heard by them and to be honest it’s what led me to where I am today musically. Yes my tastes are eclectic but you won’t find me without some good old alt country nearby. While Uncle Tupelo was busy making a name for themselves and breaking up I was busy listening to GBH, Screeching Weasel, The Hates, Fear, All, TSOL, and so on. I
missed the alt country revolution entirely and it wasn’t until a kid I worked with turned me onto Lucero that I finally caught up.

So there you have it. A couple that are not really on topic, a couple that I might have shared too much on, but that’s my list for this week.

What are yours?