Interview with Same Gods

I recently had the opportunity to do an email interview with Same Gods drummer and producer Steve Sopchak.  We discussed their recently released album Worried Eyes, their influences, the recording process and alot more.

How did the four of you get together to form the band?

Steve: Brendon [guitar] was living above the recording studio where I work and had passed me a couple demos to see if I was interested in drumming for the project. I loved the tracks and we started rehearsing in my studio at night after other sessions wrapped. When we were looking to formalize the project, we decided to reach out to friends of ours whose music we loved to round out the lineup, and so Jon [vocals] and Shane [bass] were obvious first choices.

How does the songwriting tend to work?

Steve: Brendon will usually come up with a guitar-only skeleton for a song and I will then typically lay down some drum ideas, making edits to that skeleton if necessary. We then pass that demo to Jon and Shane, who come up with their respective parts. Once we have a working demo of that fashion, we all get in a room together and play the stuff to make sure it hits the way we intended, modifying as needed based on the energy we’re getting from it in the moment.

Your bio says the album is "A love letter to 90’s alternative rock and post hardcore written with an evolved sensibility”.  Having spent my mid-20's to mid-30's listening to all of those bands, I agree that is a very apt description.  What is it about that era that means so much to the band and are there any specific bands from that time that were especially influential? 

Steve: Personally, I feel like it was a time when music and technology converged in a very meaningful way, in that there was enough technological capability to really pursue complex musical ideas and production aesthetics without the technology dominating the process and becoming the sound itself. Beyond that, I think we collectively share a natural affinity for this era because it is when we started paying attention to music in a deeper way and it was also the time period that spawned many of the artists that inspired each of us to want to start getting involved in music as creators. We’ve all explored countless musical paths outside of this era in the time since, but it has been super fun and really satisfying to revisit this era and attempt to put our own spin on it, as it was central to all of us in terms of our desire to play music in the first place.

As far as specific bands from that time period that we love in general, the list is massive, and probably unique to each individual in the band. That said, bands like Helmet, Failure, Handsome, Soundgarden, Quicksand, Shiner, and a host of others were really influential to this particular project.

To me the overall sound is a mixture of aggression with a strong melodic side, but there is also an atmospheric element to a lot of tracks.  Would you agree with that?

Steve: Yeah, totally. I think we wanted the sound to be really dark and heavy, but not senselessly so. We felt that there needed to be contrast in the music, which is why some of the more textural elements and bold melodic choices were incorporated. It was important to us to establish an identity that was our own, and each of those elements are things we hoped would contribute to that.

I love the guitar that opens “In Circles".  Can you tell me about that?

Steve: On Brendon’s demo, he had that single guitar riff opening the song, which we always just thought sounded cool and it wasn’t considered much beyond that while we were writing. During the recording of our album we realized we never explored any ideas to make the opening more interesting, so we just started throwing effects at it. We were fully prepared to leave it bare as it was but we ended up landing on a strange mixture of processing that we thought sounded neat in the sense that it felt like the guitar was spinning, and given the track title it all made sense. 

You close the album with the title track which really stands apart with a darker, less aggressive sound.  Can you tell me a little about that song?

Steve: The title “Worried Eyes” comes from a  passage in John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” where he talks about the fancy, hollow people in fine cars passing the broken dust bowl migrants on the highway to California. Jon was revisiting Steinbeck while we were working on this album and it definitely seeped into the lyrics. Musically, this song takes its time developing and getting to its most aggressive sections. We didn’t really approach it with a different mindset when writing it, it just happened to turn out this way.

I read when it came to the recording process you had a lot of freedom and flexibility. Can you elaborate on that and how it affected the end result? 

Steve: I own a recording studio that operates in the same building as two other studios and all of the engineers are great friends. We basically had access to all three studios, all of the collective gear, and as much time as we wanted because of our relationship to the space. It was awesome because we never felt rushed, we always chased every little thing that we thought could help the record feel more unique, and we had the freedom to explore different signal chains that we otherwise never would have tried. It was awesome to be able to mix the record on an analog console with tons of cool outboard gear, as these days that work flow has fallen out of favor for logistical reasons.

You’ve recorded a lot of well known bands, including Ice Kills Nine and Motionless In White.  How is it recording your own band as opposed to other bands where you aren’t a member?

Steve: I think the main difference is that when I work with other artists, I am fully dedicated to being an engineer/producer and can be super objective about the decisions I make. I’m able to readily assess what is happening in the studio as it relates to an artist’s stated or implied goals. With Same Gods, where I was part of the band making the album, it got a little trickier to do that because a lot of the time I was in musician-mode as well as producer-mode. Honestly though, that was kind of the fun of it as well, as I knew that with each decision we only had ourselves to please.

Is it true the band name came from a John Prine song?

Steve: Yes, the song is called “Pretty Good.” In it, John Prine sings, “I heard Allah and Buddha were singing at the Savior’s feast, And up the sky an Arabian rabbi fed Quaker oats to a priest. Pretty good, not bad, they can’t complain. Cause actually all them gods are just about the same.”

Are any of you currently working with any other bands?

Steve: Brendon has a project called “Diagonal Path,” which features the world-class drumming of Leprous drummer Baard Kolstad. Jon plays in “Difficult” and “The Apparition Orchestra.” Shane has a solo project called “Unmake Me“ that will have a record out soon, and I am playing in a new project called “Faster Horses” with NYC-based singer/songwriter Kate Ellen Dean.

What kind of future plans does the band have?

Steve: We’ve got a new single in the works for later this year, and we are also planning to do a release with re-imagined versions of a few of the tracks on “Worried Eyes” that will include some interesting guest features. We’re super thankful for and appreciative of the overwhelmingly positive response to “Worried Eyes” so far, and it has been super encouraging to us as we continue to create.

Is there anything else you would like to share with readers?

Steve: Thanks so much for having us! If anyone reading enjoys our music, you can follow us on the following platforms:

Spotify: open.spotify.com/album/7hMX1BO9bFlI3ZdKcXPXR2     

Instagram: www.instagram.com/samegods/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/samegods/

Twitter: twitter.com/samegodsband

YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCGzbNkKTaGpEyIqKQe8WgEg

Interview with Redeye Caravan

Greek band Redeye Caravan recently released their outstanding debut "dark country" album Nostrum Remedium.  I had the chance to talk to them through email about the album, the music scene in Greece and more.  

Can you give me a quick rundown of the band’s history?

Hi and thanks for having us! The story of the Caravan goes way back, before it became what it is today and that’s because most of us knew each other and also played together (and continue to) in other projects as well! So, friendship was already there, the background was set and the rest is “Redeye Caravan”! The band started in the Autumn of ’18 by Akis (vocals, acoustic guitar) and Valantis (vocals, bass). The music and lyrics inspired Panos (electric, slide, acoustic guitars, keys, vocals) to come aboard and soon Eleni (vocals), Thanos (violin), Stefanos (harmonica) and Paris (drums, percussion) followed… now we all are the Caravan!

How does the songwriting process tend to work?

It usually goes like this: Akis will bring the music and vocal melody, Valantis will write the lyrics inspired by it and Panos will continue with the orchestration so that the rest of the band can provide their best to bring out the atmosphere of each song. It’s not the “golden recipe” but it works great for us!

The band is referred to as “dark country”, but I noticed you had a track on a compilation of metal bands and there have been metal publications reviewing the CD.  I think there is a vibe to your sound that could appeal to metal fans.  What is your take on that?

Dark Country as a title is describing a huge aspect of our music and lyrics. We don’t care much for labels, as we think that music is one, but at the same time any band should somehow state a genre at least. Our music has its roots to blues, rock and - of course - country music with a dark twist regarding the lyrics. As an essence, though, it can surely appeal to a much bigger crowd, since it’s also atmospheric, cinematic and played by heart! That being said, it is only natural to appear in a lot of rock and metal webzines!   

I also hear a little Ennio Morricone “spaghetti western” feel to your music at times.  Would you agree?

There’s no argument here, haha! One of our beloved composers could not be absent as an influence in our music.

There are a lot of sound effects throughout the CD along with things like handclaps and stomping that really give the music a very visual sound.  Could you tell me a little about that?

To “visualize” our music like that was on our minds since the beginning! We always like to transfer the listener as close as it gets to our stories and this seemed like an one way street to do so. It kind of makes things a little more real and we love the feeling!

There are alot of images of and references to death.  Is there an underlying theme or concept to the CD?

The truth is that death is making (or is about to make) an appearance on each
and every one of our songs in one way or another, so, yeah, we suppose that there’s something like a theme there going on, haha! No connection between the songs though and thus “Nostrum Remedium” is not a concept album.

There’s a short piano instrumental called “Celebration” that closes the CD perfectly, but it’s listed as a bonus track.  Why didn’t you just include it everywhere as the last song?

“Celebration” is a great closer for the full experience of our album and we wanted to “reward” the fans who downloaded the whole LP or purchased the CD with it! That’s why we decided to keep it as a bonus material.

I didn’t see any mention of live shows on the internet and couldn’t find any live videos.  Have you played live and if so, how easy is it to get the sound of the CD to translate over to live performances?

The coronavirus and the lockdown happened right before we could present our album live. We worked hard for the compositions and the recordings and we were just about to share it with the fans, so when this is all over - and hopefully it will be soon enough - then we’ll be ready and we’ll be sure to get really close to the CD sound!

I love the 3 videos you have released, especially the animated ones.  Can you tell me about them?

The animated ones (“El Muerto” and “Good man Richard”) were made entirely by

Panos Makoulis and he made a hell of a job! It all started as a simple idea that ended up really far from where it started, haha! “The Descent” was made by John Konstantinopoulos who beautifully brought out the darkness of the song!

Have you considered doing one for each song?

This would be great but depends entirely on Panos’ free time and he is a really busy man!

How is the music scene in Greece and how does the band fit in?

The truth is that we never got into the process of thinking like that! We do what
we love and have a great time recording and rehearsing! In Greece there are many folk and blues bands and artists that we like, admire and would like to share the stage with.

Do you have any other bands that you would consider kindred spirits and recommend to readers?

Jumberingas, Grey River & The Smoky Mountain, Small Blues Trap, Bag Of Nails, Dr Albert Flipout's One Can Band (Greece) & of course The Dead South, Graveyard Train, Colter Wall and so many other bands and artists!

Is anyone in the band involved in any other bands or music projects?

As mentioned above, we all participated in bands both together and with other musicians. Akis, Valantis and Paris play also together in “Beyond this Earth” (heavy rock / metal), Akis plays in “Sisyphean Rage” (death metal) too, while Valantis and Paris in “Peculiar Three” (hard ‘n’ heavy rock / prog). Panos plays in “Flat Out” and also as solo artist.

How has the band been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic?

Except for the no live part, it all went smoothly for all of us since we are all healthy both us and our families. As a band, we remain active since we already work on new ideas for our second album, so we won’t just let the time pass! 

Is there anything else you would like to share with readers?

We hope it all ends quickly so we can all safely return to all that we love - to create and share! We want to thank you for our nice conversation and wish you all good health and courage in these difficult times that we are all going through this period! 

(www.facebook.com/redeyecaravan)

      

Interview with The Selenites

With their debut release, Moon Madness, Austria’s The Selenites have come up with an outstanding disc that throws together everything from rockabilly and 50s/60s rock to surf and garage rock.  I recently talked to them through email about the new disc (released on August 14), the band, the impact of the coronavirus and more.  (note - the band’s native language is German and the interview is printed in their own words)

Can you give me a little background on the band?

The Selenites has been formed in 2018 as a new project as three piece band from Sebastian, Paul and Berni. Shortly after Thomas joined the band and they started to write their first original songs. After the first apperance in March 2019 with Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys, Berni left the band due to personal reasons. Afterwards we continued as three headed band and write and practiced like mad to create original songs. The second show found place at the Blue Danube Riot Show in November 2019 where we played beneath bands like the Drugstore Cowboys and The Go Getters. In February 2020 we went to a studio to record our first album

 

Your sound is an infectious mix of rockabilly and 50s/60s rock along with some garage and surf elements. What influenced you to go down that musical path?

We play and write the music like it's grounded in our soul. We like all this genres and like the idea of mixing it up and break the borders between it. We don't plan to do one song with this or that elements. We just let the music flow and play what we like.

 

The lyrics are all credited to Sebastian and then all three of you are credited with the music.  How does your songwriting process tend to work?

Most of the time Sebastian comes up with the idea of a guitar riff and some lyrics. Afterwards we all put in our influence and ideas and work together on the music and arrangements. Sebastian works out the complete lyrics and everyone creates different styles of his instrument. Finally we all form together to the complete song.

 

Austria is a German speaking country and I know you said on your livestream concert you are more comfortable with German, but your lyrics are in English.  Why did you choose English?

We love the idea to transfer the message of our songs to people all over the world. For sure the English language is the best choice for this idea. Beneath that for us the German language without any kind of dialectic touch is very strange and it makes more sense for us to choose the English language.

 

To me the vocals on “Keep It Up” have a Buddy Holly feel to them at times.  Was that a conscious decision to have them sound that way?

It was not in our mind to follow Buddy Holly’s feel on the vocals of this song. When we think about the biggest influence for the vocals of this song was the feel of Led Zeppelin’s “Dyer Maker”, but it was not a clear decision to let it sound that way. As said the music comes from our heart and Led Zeppelin is for sure there.

 

What’s the story behind the Spongebob inspired song “Barnacle Boy and Mermaid Man”?

Sebastian has two little boys and therefore he has to watch all episodes of Spongebob with them. This inspired him to write a song about the "Superheroes" of this show.

 

Have you heard from anyone involved with the show about that song?

No, because the song isn't released yet, but we hope that it becomes the main theme of a Spongebob spinoff of Barnacle Boy and Mermaid Man ;)

 

How is the music scene in Austria and how does your sound fit it?

The Rock'n'Roll scene in Austria is alive. Mostly the music scene is like everywhere mainstream, but there are always people which are motivated for a good Rock'n'Roll party. Regarding our sound we got positive feedback from all over the differnet scenes and genres, therefore we would say it fits very well.

 

Are there any Austrian bands you would recommend readers check out?

For sure the Tri-Gantics are a new formation which makes a fantasic sound and play a more roots and blues influenced kind of Rock'n'Roll. Also the Slapbacks are a great act and got the authentic Rockabilly vibe.

 

I really enjoyed the cover song you did from the Go Getters on the album release live stream.  Do you have any other covers in your live show?

Besides the two Go Getters songs we also cover “Radio Sweetheart” in the version of Guana Batz.

 

I know the selenites are creatures in H G Wells The First Men In The Moon and there was also an animated film called The Secret of The Selenites.  I’m assuming the name came from one of these.  Is there any story behind you choosing that as the band name?

Sorry, but honestly speaking there was no relation to the story of H G Wells of the movie at first. Sebastian comes up with that band name after he viewed some documentation about the moon in general. Also in this documentation the greek godess Selene takes places. Afterwards he searched after Selene and the moon and he finally he found the name Selenites.

 

Its definitely a strange time we’re living in.  How has the coronavirus pandemic impacted the band and what are your plans once the album is released since live shows are still not happening?

When the corona situation started here in Austria we cancelled our rehearsals for more than two months and we just keep contact with video calls. As you say it is a weird time and every live show you plan can be canceled one day before it happens, but we do our best to bring our music to the people. Currently we are trying to organize some live shows, because we are on a good way in Austria and the infection rate is stable. Also in September we will be part of a 3 day Festival in Austria with some Rock'n'Roll bands from the nearby countries.

 

Do you plan on playing in the United States once things get back to normal?

For sure we would like to play in the States, but we have no concrete plans yet. Maybe when things get back to normality we will figure something out.

 

Is there anything else you’d like to share with readers?

We want to thank everyone who likes our music and is interested to it. We hope that our album will spread all over the world, a lot of people enjoy our music and we will have the chance to bring it to them live.  Last but not least we wish everyone to stay safe and keep it up ;) 

(Hicktown Records)

I Saw The Deep - Vimana 

In 2012 Darrell Laclé released his debut solo CD under the band name In The Deep.  Over the course of the eight years since then, he has added two more members to the band with drummer Domenico San Giorgi and bassist Niels Budel and they have now released a follow-up EP.  Vimana is a stellar amalgamation of heavy doom sludginess, stoner psychedelia and an everpresent underlying groove.  While there isn’t a bad cut in the bunch, the standouts tracks to me are “Villain” which has a really cool sparse technical start and then turns into what sounds like a doom version of AIC with some excellent stoner guitar work (especially Darrell’s vocals that have a strong resemblance to Layne Staley), “Titans, a more atmospheric tune that at times sounds like a super heavy Pink Floyd and my favorite “Only The Eye”. which starts with a complex 2 minute instrumental leading into a tense, very powerful heavier cut that is best described as progressive doom.  Vimana is a great “return” for this band.  Hopefully we won’t have to wait eight years the next. (www.isawthedeep.com)   

Interview with DDE's

After releasing a handful of singles, Manchester's DDE's have now released their debut EP Calm Before The Storm.  I recently had an email conversation with them about all of this, their plans for the follow-up EP's and alot more.  

Can you give me a quick band history?

Me (Dan) and John started it just under 2 years ago and I put an add out on a musician’s page and John answered the call. We had our original drummer as well (Jack) but he had to leave for family commitment reasons and so John works with our new drummer (Alex) Dad and it was a no brainer when we heard him play!

Manchester definitely has a place in music history.  How has being from there impacted the band?

I think the way we have developed our sound is the main impact. Without really meaning too we have been able to hone a sound that is quite distinctive of all the Manchester greats. It’s the way that the city “feels” as well that comes across in our music we hope as well that is the biggest influence as well.

Even though the EP is only 4 cuts there is alot of diversity.  Was that a conscious decision?

100%. I think to show your diversity as a band is what keeps people interested and keeps them listening. The whole title of the ep relates to how each track takes you on a journey from the calming and then into the storm so yeah, the tracks were purposely laid out in that fashion.

How does the songwriting process tend to work?

Its usually me (Dan) that’s come to the band with song demo’s that I have or even an idea. But it’s usually from me just noodling about and seeing what comes from that I guess. If something clicks then I’ll work on a melody with the acoustic guitar then they sort of take a shape of their own. But since Alex has joined we have been jamming in rehearsal and new tunes have just been appearing from nowhere which is a nice change

I love “Cherry Soul”, which is extremely catchy with guitar-work that screams “rock star”.  What can you tell me about that song?

That songs is about 6 years old and its gone through so many changes (sound wise) it never really hit home how good it is until Al joined really and his drumming on it takes it too another level. It just an out and out rock n roll stomper about going out and having a good time. Simple chords and a simple meaning…but live it takes your head clean off! I wanted to go for a sort of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club vibe with it and I think that we got that on this track.

“Lucy” starts off with a virtual jam session with almost the first half of the song being instrumental.  Was it always intended to be that way?

No not at all. I came to the band with the verse and chorus but we felt that it was over to quickly so the intro literally came about from us just jamming away one night in rehearsal and it sort of clicked. I love that its so diverse from beginning to end and that’s really what we go for in most of our songs.

I checked out your earlier singles and to me several of them have that “Manchester” vibe to them and then the EP opener “It’s Gonna Get Wild” does as well, but then the next two songs on the EP have alot more punch to them.  I really don’t hear much of that on the earlier singles, besides “What Are The Rules”, which by the way is an outstanding song.  Do you feel like the band is evolving more in that direction?

Definitely, I mean since we have only been together just over 2 years we have gone through a massive evolvement of our sound and now we have started leaning more towards the heavier side. It just feels more in our comfort zone in a weird way and Al loves that side of our sound more and he really comes alive when we play the heavier tunes. The follow up to Calm Before the Storm is going to knock peoples heads off as its going to be full on from start to finish. 

I heard you kinda have a plan for 2 more EP’s that are in the works.  Can you elaborate on that?

Yeah, so we have always released singles in trio’s, just felt like each set complimented one another and so we wanted to do the same with the ep’s. the next one is going be called “Something Wicked This Way Comes” and will showcase the heavier new tunes that we have been writing and then the final one is going to be called “Here Comes The Sun” and that’s going to be a much more radio friendly sort of feel. All the tracks are written and planned so we just need get studio time booked in when we can.

Before this EP you released 6 singles.  Was there any kind of plan behind starting with just singles and then releasing an EP?  Did you ever consider adding those 6 to the EP and making it a full-length release?

I always thought it would be a bit of a cop out to add them all together onto a single release
because they are already out there, you know what I mean? I just want to keep it fresh and keep releasing songs as much as possible. I've always felt that once a band release an album its like “this is the only thing your getting from us for at least 18 months” where as if you release ep’s every 4 months say it keeps things interesting and also gives the fans something to look forward to as they know another release is only a few months away.

I absolutely love the acoustic single “Talking Tel Aviv”.  The hooks on that are incredible and it’s unlike anything else you’ve released.  Where did that come from and is there more of that to come?  

So TTA came about because our producer (Liad Broyd) is from Tel Aviv and me and him became great friends and so I literally wrote in about 10 minutes. There is a line in it  that says “Don’t you worry lady there's no Monsters down them stairs” and that’s in reference to his own band “Downstairs Monsters”.  With regards to there being more like that we will have to wait and see, songs seem to just create themselves but there is a new one called “Sunshine Sally” that will be on the 3rd EP that has a TTA vibe to it.

Your earlier single “Shoot You Down” says it features Downstairs Monsters.  You mentioned that's your producer's band.  What did they contribute?

He is literally the 4th member and without him there wouldn’t be a band. He knows our sound he IS our sound and the things that he creates for us are just unbelievable. We will send him the cuts from the studio and he will work his magic and just add SO much to the tracks that it blows us away. You should go check out his band “Downstairs Monsters” they sound like if the Beatles and the Beach Boys had a child and then that kid grew up listening to The Doors….they are mega!

How has the coronavirus pandemic affected the band?

Only really in the fact that we had so many gigs and festivals lined up to play and obviously that has all gone to shit now because of this horrendous pandemic! Apart from that it hasn’t really, songs are still being written and demos are still being made. Its been good that we can plan for the future and have focus on where we want the band to be heading.

Is there anything else you would like to share with readers?

Just to keep an eye out on all of our social media @wearetheddes for info of any up coming gigs and releases!

Kursaal Flyers - Little Does She Know

Little Does She Know is an outstanding 4-disc box set from the Kursaal Flyers that collects their 4 studio albums and their 1977 live album recorded at The Marquee along with a handful of non-album tracks, live tracks and previously unreleased cuts.  Although they tended to be lumped in with the Pub Rock scene thanks to their association with Dr Feelgood, the Kursaal Flyers never really quite fit into that genre.  Early on they took bits of elements from that scene and added a more country roots rock vibe with banjo and pedal steel included in their instrumentation giving them a bit more of a sound reminiscent of their European touring mates The Flying Burrito Brothers.    Starting things off on disc one are their first 2 releases Chocs Away and The Great Artiste.  While songs on the debut like “Tennessee”, “Silver Wings”, “Cross Country” and the barn burning banjo-driven “Chocs Away” really showcased the country side, other great tracks like “Pocket Money” and “Hit Records”, with it’s R&B tinged swagger, showed the more pop side to their sound.  With their sophomore effort, The Great Artiste the band focused more on the country side with outstanding tunes like “Ugly Guys”, “Cruisin’ For Love” (which should‘ve been a huge hit), the infectious, quirky bounce of ”The Great Artiste” and a cover of Nick Lowe’s “Television” (a song Lowe would release himself 3 years later).

The second disc in this box contains The Golden Mile, the band’s third album and first for CBS.  Written by the albums’s producer Mike Batt and given a very over the top orchestral production, the opening track “Little Does She Know” became the biggest song of their career and a UK Top 20 track, but is also probably one of the most un-Kursaal Flyers song as well.  With a couple exceptions, most of the rest of the album finds them sticking closer to their country-tinged sound with standouts like the stomper “Drinking Socially”, “Street Of The Music”, “One Arm Bandit” and “Ready To Go”.  Closing out the disc are three B-sides including “Revolver”, which shows a more hard driving side to the band and the unreleased “The Questionnaire”, a really pretty country ballad that thankfully has now seen the light of day.

Disc three starts off with their live album Five Live Kursaals.  Recorded at The Marquee by legendary producer Vic Maile, Five Live Kursaals showcases the band’s high energy performance opening with a hard rocking new song “Original Model” and continuing through nine more cuts that are definitely amped up a bit more than their studio versions, before closing with 3 covers - Mike Berry’s “On My Mind”, Arthur Alexander’s “Anna (Go To Him)”  and The Easybeats’ “Friday On My Mind”.  The last four songs on disc three are tracks that were recorded with Muff Winwood producing for their next album Mods and Rockers, but before the album could be finished two members left the band and the project was scrapped.  These cuts definitely saw the band heading in a much harder direction with “Television Generation” edging close to punk.

After about a decade break, the original band got back together and recorded their fourth studio album, A Former Tour De Force Is Forced To Tour, which opens up the fourth disc of this set.  With A Former... the band seems to have honed in on what they were striving for on their previous albums.  The songs here are more focused and the album is their most cohesive with a more straight-forward country-tinged rock sound full of pedal-steel and strong vocal harmonies.  Closing out the disc are some non-album tracks, a few unreleased songs and a handful of radio sessions that include a couple swinging, countrified covers of “Route 66“ and a cover of “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”.

Little Does She Know is a highly recommended, all-inclusive trip through the history of this band and also includes a 24 page booklet full of pictures from the collections of a couple band members, a family tree of the band and an outstanding essay on the band written by band member and music writer Will Birch.

The Music Korner is back up and running.  After having to step away for awhile The Music Korner is back with a new look and new reviews and interviews.