Whiskey Myers: Concert Review

I went with my sister and daughter to see Whiskey Myers in New Braunfels, TX at the River Road Ice House with Band of Heathens opening.

While not that familiar with Band of Heathens before, they were really good. Hard to explain, but if you like 70's California rock, you'd like them.

I had seen Whiskey Myers a couple of years ago at a small club. They were good then. Now, they are a rock and roll tour de force.

The east Texas band cut their teeth on the Texas/Red Dirt Country circuit, honing their brand of Southern Rock. They are a jam band at heart. At least live. It doesn't come through as much on their recorded material.

Whiskey Myers is going out on the Carnival of Madness tour with Shinedown, Halestorm and Black Stone Cherry. If the other three aren't on their game, they will be out-rocked by some East Texas boys.

Whiskey Myers would be right at home in the '70's. With either the Southern Rock crowd or the hard rock crowd. They would have fit in the '80's with Cinderella, Tesla and the Black Crowes. You could even argue that they would have been at home in the late '60's with Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who, and the Rolling Stones. Oh, and they could also hold their own playing with Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.

Visually, Whiskey Myers is an amalgam of of many things. Guitarists Cody Tate and John Jeffers could not look more like they belong in different bands. Tate could walk onto a ZZ Top stage and trade licks with Billy Gibbons. Jeffers could step onto a stage with Cinderella and not look out of place. And both shred on guitar. Early and often.

Drummer Jeff Hogg may be Mick Fleetwood reincarnate.

Bassist Gary Brown looks like he belongs on the Texas Country scene, replete with cowboy hat. Then he breaks out the bass line for "7 Nation Army" and you know this ain't your dad's country.

Lead singer Cody Cannon is a combination of Jim Morrison, Billy the Kid, Johnny Depp, Johnny Van Zant and Jon Bon Jovi. Both in looks and sound. I leave that for you to figure out.

Whiskey Myers played a high energy set that rocked more than the last Bon Jovi show I saw. If you go expecting country, you'll be disappointed, it you go wanting some good rock music, you'll leave impressed.

Here is a live version of "Home" recorded in England:

Album Spotlight: Jasmine Cain: White Noise

Ok, I  really try to stay current. It's hard. Jasmine Cain originally released White Noise in July of 2015. Then it got picked up by Entertainment One Music and re-released in May 2016. That's when I found it. So I missed out on almost a year of this good music.

Paraphrasing here, but Jasmine Cain is pretty much the bass-wielding ringmaster of her own rock and roll circus.

I won't compare Jasmine Cain to Lzzy Hale, or Cain's band to Halestorm. That would be unfair to both. But if you like Halestorm, then Jasmine Cain will be right up your alley. There are definite similarities, and definite differences.

I'm still baffled at the "rock is dead" narrative. OK, it might not thrive on radio, but get out and go to shows. Rock is alive and well. Jasmine Cain rocks and rocks hard.

Here is "Hole" from White Noise:




And since I'm just now discovering Jasmine Cain, here is "Highway Prophet" from a few years ago:

New Video: Midnight River Choir: Change

Found the Midnight River Choir by accident last Sunday playing at the famous Gruene Hall for free. Great band.

They're working on new stuff, which you certainly will be able to read about hear. But for now enjoy this bit of new music, "Change":

EP Spotlight: Lauren Jenkins: The Nashville Sessions

The first thing I noticed about Lauren Jenkins was that unique smokey voice. I could listen to her sing songs I don't like.

Her first EP, The Nashville Sessions, is a six song collection that has four songs that she co-wrote and two cover songs. One of the covers is the song she did for for the Motley Crue tribute album. Her version of "Looks That Kill" was my first introduction to her voice and I've been waiting for more from her ever since.

The other cover is of Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love", with, of course, her own spin. Personally, I could have done without either cover, replacing them with more originals, though I do think "Looks That Kill" is very interesting.

Here is one of the originals that I really like, "All Good Things". Enjoy.

Album Spotlight: Bonnie Bishop: Ain't Who I Was

It's takes some time to figure out who you are. Most of the time it ain't who you were. That is the sentiment in not only the title track, but also real life for Bonnie Bishop on her latest album Ain't Who I Was.

Bonnie Bishop did the Texas Country scene and didn't fit in. She tried the contemporary country songwriter gig in Nashville. She almost walked away from music. Then this album happened. And all lovers of good music are better off because of it. You can read her own words on this at Saving Country Music, and it's worth your time.

Ain't Who I Was was produced by Dave Cobb. Anything produced by Dave Cobb gets my attention. Not only because he brings out the best in the artists he produces, but he only seems to produce the best artists. Look it up.

Ain't Who I Was ain't country, blues, jazz, soul, pop or rock. It's all of those, only not. It's just a 10 song collection of greatness.

Here is a live version of "Too Late" from the album:

Album Spotlight: Diana Rein: The Long Road

Diana Rein, the self-proclaimed Six String Siren, has a new album, The Long Road. As Rein was responsible for all of the songs and all of the instrumentation on the record, this 18 month long "labor of love" is unashamedly and unabashedly all Diana Rein all the time.

And that's a good thing.

It's blues. It's rock. It's sultry. It's sweaty. It's good music.

While honing her craft by watching videos of her favorite artists, Rein, through many hours of practice, has carved out her own sound.

If you're a blues purist, this won't be for you, but if you're like me and like a little rock and pop and country in your blues, your can't go wrong with this album.

Check out "Rebel With A Cause" from the album.

Ace and Paul Together Again

Get the old band back together. Well not really, but founding members of KISS Ace Frehley and Paul Stanley did record a song together, "Fire and Water" for Ace's latest album Origins Vol. 1. Happy to say that Paul sounds really good and Ace is Ace. Have a listen.

New Single: Diana Rein: Down Down Down

Diana Rein, Los Angeles-based blues guitarist/vocalist/songwriter has released a single in advance of her forthcoming album Long Road, due out May 18.

The single, "Down Down Down" can be heard below. Enjoy.




Also check out her YouTube page.

You'll be reading more about this talented woman in this space in the future.

Useless Ranking Featuring Cartoon Theme Songs

Here are the best covers of cartoon theme songs, according to me.

5. Josie and the Pussycats - Juliana Hatfield and Tanya Donelly
Sure they made a movie or something out of this cartoon. But the theme song from that is not available. But this is. Great song.




4. Scooby Doo, Where Are You? - Matthew Sweet
I honestly thought this would end up higher, but there are too many good candidates.



3. Sugar Sugar (The Archies) - Mary Lou Lord w/ Semisonic
Had to find a cover of this to include it. The original was great. This might be better.



2. Hong Kong Phooey - Sublime
This was actually a really cool original with Scatman Crothers as the original Henry. Sublime took it to another level.




1. The Tra La La Song (Banana Splits) - Liz Phair
This may be the best cartoon theme song of all time. Liz Phair just made it cooler.
Although, this one may not be fair since the Banana Splits wasn't totally a cartoon. But it's my list.

Album Spotlight: Lita Ford: Time Capsule

So Lita Ford dug up some old songs from the 80's  that featured Robin Zander, Rick Nielsen, Gene
Simmons, Dave Navarro, Billy Sheehan, Bruce Kulick and Jeff Scott Soto.

Then Lita went and put them all together and released an album.

The results are magical. At least for those of us that love 80's hard rock.

Time Capsule is raw. It's unadulterated. It rocks. And above all, it's good.

While Lita has never had the pipes to create awe-inspiring vocals like Ann Wilson or Lzzy Hale, or the shredding ability of Eddie Van Halen or Randy Rhoads, her combination as a singer/guitarist/songwriter puts her in the realm of hard rock royalty.

It's just a shame these songs never saw the light when it might have mattered.

Here are couple of tracks from Time Capsule.