Whiskey Folk Ramblers

This band is 1 part mariachi, 1 part klezmer, 1 part punk, 1 part jug band. I saw them last Saturday night in Ft. Worth as the headliners in a trio of great bands at a club in Ft. Worth (where they hail from) and was so delighted. The first band was called Oil Boom (check them out here-- Death of You is the best song they've got posted I think...). The second band was Spooky Folk, which I love and have blogged about previously (but you can now buy their album if you would like here). And the third band was the Whiskey Folk Ramblers, who I had heard of but never heard. You should listen, or better yet go see them live. Here are some of the things I like about them:
-the guy's voice is like butter
-they have a trumpet player, which I love
-they have an accordian, which I also love
-they sing a lot of story songs
-they are the kind of band that makes you want to dance
-they've been described as folk-noire (and I love new musical genre names)

The Fox Hunt

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. NMM. It feels good to have the virtual pen in my hand again and I am proud to report that I have a good one for you all. The Fox Hunt are a surprise band to me that I have known about now for a grand total of four days after seeing them play a free show in Charleston, WV on the beautiful Kanawha River. They are a band that plays traditional music with bluegrass and country influences and hail from the hills in West Virginia. They feature acoustic guitar, banjo, madolin, fiddle, and stand-up bass. The easiest (and probably most apt) comparison is to Old Crow Medicine Show, which is hard because comparing bands to OCMS means you are going to say something like they are not quite as good to one of the best bands going. However, The Fox Hunt does admirably with their own songs and their adaptations of others. They have two singers- a sweet voices clean cut guy and a long haired dirty with a rougher edge. Their songs are good; murder ballads, drinking songs, songs about bad women and good women, songs about being on the road, and of course, songs about coming home. But the real fun is seeing the band live. Their energy plays better in person than on record (also something they have in common with OCMS) and their range of cover songs is great. In the two shows I saw this past weekend, the played songs by Hank Williams, The Rolling Stones, The Bottle Rockets, The Band, The Replacements, two John Prines, and at least one Irish waltz. However, the best part about the band is their are trying to be their own band and that includes seperating themselves from their big brothers. When some drunk asked to hear "Wagon Wheel," one of the guys stepped to the mic and said, "We don't know that one."