B-Sides

Mason Reed has released an EP titled, You Can’t Come Back from Heaven, in February.  As the follow-up to his 2005 release, Witches and Whiskey, the new record is his account on lost loves and the comfort and freedom of driving the open road. “I hope it gives people an idea of where I'm coming from. I hope to be able to write songs and tour as long as I live.  I'm in this for the long haul.  Willing to follow the road wherever it leads for the love of the song, the story, and the music,” he says.

This teaser is a thanks to Dustin Orbesen (Squash Blossom Boys) for tearing it up on the fiddle and providing a backdrop appropriate to the authentic Irish cuisine that stewed in a crockpot behind me and filled my senses with the smell of comfort food from years past. I look forward to the upcoming review of the "Boys" who are known for a catchy combination of bluegrass, folk, and cajun, which will no doubt provide an impressive contribution to the headlining band,The Infamous String Dusters (http://www.thestringdusters.com) at El Rey Theater (www.elreytheater.com) this Wednesday, March 24, 2010.

Richard March and Tyler Ragle are distinguished not only by the organic style of rock they have captured but also for the willingness to play for little more than a partaking of Scott’s liquid wizardry. We were thankful that they decided to make us a stop on their tour and look forward to the next visit. If you’re located somewhere between Albuquerque and Sacramento, look them up and catch the next show- you won’t leave disappointed!

Lindsay White's vocal style gets compared to Jewel’s quite often, which is taken as a compliment; however, she believes that her lyrics are just a tad more sarcastic.  For example, her song, “All Damn Day” explains her frustrations with happy people.  As dark and as negative as it sounds, Lindsay uses her songwriting as an outlet.  In other words, she keeps it real.

Steve Drizos may not be a household name but once he gets behind the drumkit for Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons, he's easily identifiable You may also remember him as the drummer for 1700 gigs in ten years with Charlie Orlando as Dexter Grove, where their stripped down sound and Drizo’s conga carried them across the United States back forth more times than they probably care to remember.  Times have certainly changed for Drizos.

Vandaveer is the alt-folk song-singing/record making/globetrotting project penned and put forth by DC-by-way-of-Kentucky tunesmith Mark Charles Heidinger. Vandaveer’s debut album, Grace & Speed, a mostly live, stripped down affair, swiftly entered this great big dusty world in the spring of 2007. Touring continually on both sides of the Atlantic ever since, Vandaveer has played 250+ shows, sharing stages with a host of artists including Bon Iver, Vetiver, Alela Diane, Alejandro Escovedo, Vashti Bunyan, Bill Callahan and Fleet Foxes.  Vandaveer’s sophomore effort, Divide & Conquer, touches upon similar themes found in its elder sibling, winding timeworn themes of love & death, malice & goodwill, sin & perseverance into (mostly) four-minute vignettes.