Posts by Gary Schwind

Harlis Sweetwater is an artist from Orange County, California, an area that has produced such noteworthy acts as Social Distortion and No Doubt. One of his previous bands (Barrelhouse) was placed at #33 in a list of the 129 (an unusual number to be sure) greatest Orange County bands. Whether with Barrelhouse or Harlis Sweetwater […]

Haunted Like Human is an unlikely duo in a lot of ways. First, guitarist Cody Clark got his start in metal and punk bands. This project is about as far from metal and punk as you can get. Second, the band started when Clark traveled from Oregon to Nashville in 2017 looking for collaborators. After […]

BC & The Big Rig is a band that describes its sound as “shred dirt”. It’s a term that incorporates the loud and nimble work on the guitar and the band’s red-dirt roots in Oklahoma. The band has been busy since forming in 2015, releasing five albums, including a double-live album entitled Tour de Dive […]

Jeremy Pinnell is a country artist from northern Kentucky. On his first two albums, he rightly earned a reputation as a new-generation honky-tonk hero. His new album is entitled Goodbye L.A. He maintains the honky-tonk sound for which he has become known, but, like Kendall Marvel, he also weaves a fair amount of rock and soul […]

Ross Cooper’s story is quite a bit different than that of most musicians. Before turning his attention to songwriting, he rode broncos in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. A knee injury brought an end to his career in the rodeo. However, that particular misfortune led him to songwriting. He released two albums before Chasing Old […]

Tony Kamel is the singer and guitarist of bluegrass Wood and Wire, a band whose album North of Despair was nominated for a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album. While the band released an album in 2020, Kamel has also ventured out to record an album on his own.  As you might expect, his new album […]

Emily Frembgen’s career as an entertainer began when she started taking classes at the Denver Center Theatre Company. Music came after she moved to New York at age 15. After dropping out of high school and home schooling herself, she began to write and record songs on a four-track recorder in her room. She recorded […]

Caitlin Jemma is a singer-songwriter who doesn’t fit easily into any one category. A lot of country sounds permeate her music, but she’s also a little bit folk and a little bit soul. One thing you can say definitively is that she is prolific. Her debut album Love Notes was released in 2018 and was […]

Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand grew up playing contra dance music (a type of folk dance) with their mother in upstate New York. Their band Great Bear toured the country for 18 years, giving the brothers plenty of opportunity to hone their craft. At a music camp, the two met multi-instrumentalist Chris Miller of the cajun-country […]

It’s not unusual for a musician to have some other job. After all, everyone has bills to pay. Still, while it’s not unusual for a musician to have another job, you don’t see many of them listed as singer-songwriter-iron worker. Erik Shicotte might be the only one in that particular category. His “regular” job entails […]

With artists like Prince and The Replacements, Minneapolis has contributed some epic acts to the history of rock and roll. While not every band or artist is going to reach those heights, there must be something about Minneapolis that inspires artists. From their beginnings in 2016, Kiss the Tiger has garnered the attention of fans […]

Tylor and The Train Robbers is a family band from Boise comprised of Tyler Ketchum, his brothers Jason and Tommy Bushman, and his father-in-law Johnny Pisano. Of the band, Ketchum said, “We are all family, we’re connected and I think it shows in all aspects of our music. We know each other well and we […]

If someone were to give you a pop quiz identifying a place with soul music, Sheffield, England, probably wouldn’t be at the top of your list. However, good music (regardless of genre) can come from anywhere, and Kat Eaton is proof. She is a Welsh-born singer who makes her home in Sheffield, and makes soul […]

Left Vessel is a multi-instrumentalist from Portland who creates experimental indie folk. He also creates sound art, which he defines as “any sonic experience outside of traditionally performed/created music that is made to evoke emotion, ideally with a deeper artistic meaning underlying the work, whatever it may be.” He brings the concept of sound art […]

Joe Bourdet is a singer-songwriter from California. While his sound is definitely influenced by Laurel Canyon, his geographic whereabouts are less important than the fact that he sounds like he’s from another time.  His debut album Meadow Rock can best be described as an anachronism. It is a new album that sounds like it was […]

Rebelution is one of the most successful reggae bands going, and it’s easy to see why. The band regularly puts out new material and plays shows that are hopeful sing-alongs with capacity crowds. The band’s relatable and positive lyrics and bright melodies have earned them fans of all ages. In the Moment is the band’s […]

Joe Puleo isn’t your typical songwriter. When he was young, he was an athlete who competed in wrestling and triathlons, among other endeavors. After that, he started running companies in both New Jersey and Philadelphia. He is also the author of the book Running Anatomy.  Inspired by the story of Gabriele Gruenwald a track star […]

One of the great things about music is that you so often find the unexpected. When you think of surf music, places like California come to mind. However, good surf music doesn’t have to come from a place where people go for surf vacations. It can come from a place like Copenhagen. The Tremolo Beer […]

One of the great things about the blues is the range. The style spans from the traditional Delta blues that is well suited for a front porch, to hard-hitting blues rock. Black River Delta is a band from Sweden that falls into the latter category.  The band’s album Vol. II caught the attention of blues […]

Eddie 9V is something of an anomaly. He is only 24 years old, yet his music has a distinct old-time feel to it. It feels like he discovered his parents old soul and blues records and did his best to emulate it. It’s fair to say that he’s done a pretty decent job. He blends […]