My Favorite Record of the Decade

Cover of "Too Much Guitar"
Cover of Too Much Guitar

1) Reigning Sound: Too Much Guitar

This record was released in 2004, shortly before I arrived in Memphis for the very first time. Recorded with the original Memphis based line-up, mostly in the back of what is now Goner records and partly at the now defunct Easley/McCain studios, the record sounds like the city that I fell in love with that summer. I can hear the heat, the sweat, and the grit that could all be washed away by a late night swim in harbor town.
This record does what few punk rock bands have ever done which is merge irreverent production and arrangements with perfect songwriting. I would put this up there with records like ‘Exile on Main on Main Street’ or ‘Nevermind’ as a genre defining statement of what Rock and Roll should be.

Best track: ‘Drowning.’

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Read more | Comments (0) | December 14th, 2009

Top 5 Thanksgiving Songs

Though not a holiday associated with music (that’s the next one, and unfortunately there will be an audio invasion of bells, choirs, and saccharin singing very soon), there are some songs that would be plenty appropriate for a Thanksgiving day playlist. I’ve tried to include mostly Memphis songs, but my top two are from beyond the city limits. Here are my top 5, you can fill in the rest and enjoy them all as you cook, eat, and argue with your family.

5) Reigning Sound: I’m So Thankful
4) Big Star: Thank You friends*
3) Sam and Dave: I Thank You*
2) Neil Young: Pocahontas
1) William DeVaughn: Be Thankful For What You’ve Got
*recorded at Ardent

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Read more | Comments (0) | November 24th, 2009

Greg O and Jack O: ships in the Night


Jack Oblivian

Not only did all the Memphis bands I wanted to see play in NY the same week (which was also the week of my birthday), former Oblivians/Compulsive Gamblers bandmates Greg Cartwright and Jack Oblivian played Southpaw in Park Slope within two nights of eachother. I was at the Reigning Sound Show on Friday as well as the Jack O show on Sunday.


The Reigning Sound show was a Rock and Roll show for the ages. Sold out crowd, sweaty fans singing along to every word, a 27 song setlist, and beer flying everywhere. Instead of leaving the stage and coming back for the encore, Greg just told the crowd “I don’t feel the need to leave the stage and come back so if you want more, we’ll play more. They closed the show with ‘Drowning’ from “Too Much Guitar” and the Glass Sun’s ‘Stick Up For Me’ and no one left disappointed.

The Jack Oblivian show on Sunday night had a completely different feel. It reminded me more than anything else of being at Juke Joints and Soul Clubs in Mississippi and Memphis, where everyone’s drunker than they ought to be and there’s a looseness to the music and the crowd, that makes the show feel like a house party. Besides knowing all the musicians personally, there were a lot of familiar Memphis faces in the crowd. The crowd was small during the first part of John Paul Keith’s set, but filled in nicely towards the end. By the middle of Jack’s set, it was a solid turn out for a Sunday. Jack called up a couple of folks to play tambourine and dance on stage during their “Disco number,” and called me up to sing back up on ‘Black boots.’ It was definitely dark enough that you might even think you were at the Hi-Tone. It takes a lot to give me that feeling in NYC.

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Read more | Comments (0) | November 23rd, 2009

Reigning Sound Night 1: Maxwell’s

Reigning Sound

It is amazing that all of my favorite bands from Memphis were scheduled to play within 5 days of each other the week of my birthday. Perhaps it was a reminder that you don’t have to live in this stress-pit of a city to have an audience here.

The Reigning Sound played Maxwell’s in Hoboken tonight (not technically NYC) and Greg Cartwright announced he was still getting over an illness when he took the stage. It certainly didn’t matter much. Having not seen them since SXSW ‘07, it was a reminder why I tell people they are my favorite current band. The line-up sounded tight, giving the tempos room to breath and fluxuate, while Greg spat the bile that can only be pumped out by a broken heart.

They ran through wonderful versions of “Stop and Think it Over,” “I’ll Cry,” “The Bells,” “Polly Anne,” and the Oblivians’ “Bad Man,” but did not come back for an encore as Greg had worn his voice out for the evening. Good thing I have tickets for the South Paw show. Maybe I’ll get to hear “Drowning” or “Something to Hold on To.” Its a not often that a songwriter has a catalog so strong that no set could possibly deliver everything you’d want to hear. More on this fantastic week of Memphis music tomorrow.

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Read more | Comments (0) | November 19th, 2009