For those of you that live in smaller towns or cities, it can be frustrating to drive to the “big city” on a regular basis just to see shows. Take, for example, Plymouth, Indiana. This is a place with a lot of culture, history, and character. The people are business owners, artists, musicians, animal lovers, and sports enthusiasts. And more often than not you’ll find them driving north to South Bend, Indiana, west to Chicago, or south to Indianapolis. They’re putting their money into the …

Indie rock band As Tall as Lions have a solid release on their hands with “You can’t Take it With You”, their fifth album to date (if you don’t count their self-released EP, “Blood and Aphorisms).  The band at the core is made up of the New York quartet (that has been together since high school, nonetheless) and have seen some rough times in the last few years, as is evidenced in their dynamic and versatile work on this album.  This album was a somewhat stressful experience for singer Dan Nigro. …

I recently did a review of The Civil Wars “Live at Eddie’s Attic” release.  The Civil Wars are made up of Joy Williams and John Paul White.  Their music is raw and real.  I enjoyed it enough that I was compelled to learn more about them.  Here you’ll get to check out be talk with them.  They are currently working on a full-length album, but you can get their EP and live album in the mean time.  If you’ve never heard this group, give the singe “Poison and Wine” a …

I’m happy to say that I had the pleasure of reviewing The Civil Wars thanks to a recommendation by a good friend.  This group was a stark contrast to the dynamic and full band sound of Lydia (whom I reviewed in the first week of this series).  It was a good contrast, though.  Very stripped down and “naked” sounding.
To start off, this particular album is titled “Live at Eddie’s Attic”, where the album was recorded during a live performance.  The Civil Wars consist of Joy Williams and John Paul White, …

Thirty years ago, music was huge.  There were groups that were larger than life.  Mysterious.  And they sold albums.  Moved units.  Made money.  Gained lifelong fans.
And all of that was done without the aid of digital technology.  Without computers, external hard discs, or A/D converters.  Their music was created using the same kind of recording studios using the same guitars, drums, and microphones as today.  But when it was recorded, it was done so using analog 2″ tape (if it was 24 tracks, that is).  It was done so using …