Sunday 08.14.11: ROOTS ROADHOUSE w/ THE SADIES / OLD MAN MARKLEY / MIKE STINSON / BIG SANDY & HIS FLY-RITE BOYS / EILEN JEWELL / JESSE SYKES AND PHIL WANDSCHER / WHITEY MORGAN & THE 78′s / JACKSHIT / BRENNEN LEIGH / DAVID SERBY & THE DIRT POOR FOLKLORE / EASTSIDE HAYRIDE / THE BROKEN NUMBERS / OLENTANGY JOHN / DAWN LANDES & THE HOUNDS / DRIFTWOOD SINGERS / EAGLE ROCK GOSPEL SINGERS / NIKKI LANE / MY GRAVEYARD JAW / RESTAVRANT / GWENDOLYN + AUNTIE’S FRY BREAD + BARBIE’S Q @ Echo & Echoplex

3pm / $15 adv; $17 advance day of show; $18 at the door & $12 for kids under 15 / All Ages

The Sadies || Listen||Watch||MP3
Led by brothers Dallas and Travis Good, the Toronto-based Sadies honed a distinctive sound, taking influence from traditional country, surf music, and garage rock. After earning notice and adding backing singer Neko Case, the group issued its debut LP, Precious Moments, in 1998. Tremendous Efforts followed in early 2001, teaming them with Breeders/PJ Harvey producer Steve Albini for the second time. A year later, Stories Often Told marked their first album without Albini, placing Blue Rodeo’s Greg Keelor in his position. The Sadies produced themselves on 2004′s Favourite Colours, with Keelor, Nick Luca, and Chris Shreenan-Dyck handling the engineering duties; Robyn Hitchcock made a guest appearance as vocalist and lyricist on one track. After gaining more recognition while backing Neko Case on tour — which resulted in a live album, The Tigers Have Spoken — the Sadies recorded an album in collaboration with R&B legend Andre Williams, one with Mekons frontman Jon Langford, and then released a live album of their own, In Concert, Vol. 1, in 2006. Soon after, in September 2007, Yep Roc released the band’s rousing seventh studio album, New Seasons, followed by a 2009 classic country/honky tonk collaboration with X’s John Doe called Country Club. In 2010, the Sadies returned to the studio for the full-length Darker Circles. CMT

Old Man Markley || Listen||Watch||MP3
So, you’ve heard of Bluegrass, but what’s “Newgrass”? Well, it’s the affectionately coined style of music the kids in OLD MAN MARKLEY have been pioneering since 2007. Made up of nine musicians with punk rock in their hearts and traditional acoustic instruments in their hands, OLD MAN MARKLEY have adeptly bound the two genres, giving way to something fresh and exciting. If you’re having trouble with the concept think of it like this: What would happen if Mike Ness woke up drunk in bed with the guys from Old Crow Medicine Show and decided to just make a record rather than do the walk of shame? Or, for a more tangible description, look at what bands like Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys have done with Irish Folk music and you’ll get an idea of what OLD MAN MARKLEY are doing with America’s proudest Folk tradition, Bluegrass. Music that was initially conceived through casual front porch sing-alongs has steadily matured into a 12 song album recorded by Joby J. Ford of The Bronx. The album is called Guts n’ Teeth and the second we heard it we were hooked. Every spirited track on Guts n’ Teeth features captivating three part harmonies playing off of nimble instrumentation. Folks, we’re talking about banjos, fiddles, mandolins, harmonicas, washboards, and, hell, they’ve even got a homemade washtub bass in the mix, all of which the kids in OLD MAN MARKLEY can play faster than green grass through a goose. From start to finish Guts n’ Teeth showcases their irresistible twist on the genre, infusing a youthful party-first sensibility that has their crowds doing do si dos in the circle pit. From the get go the group has gained a reputation for putting on raucous, high energy sets and in their young career they’ve already played alongside Flogging Molly, Bad Religion, The Reverend Horton Heat, The Devil Makes Three, Against Me!, and Supersuckers. OLD MAN MARKLEY are poised to reinvent tradition and Guts n’ Teeth is the blueprint.

*Old Man Markley will be playing @ Echo

Mike Stinson || Listen||Watch
Named “Best Country-Western Artist in L.A.” by Los Angeles magazine and called “the uncrowned king of the L.A. neo-honky tonkers” by Billboard, Mike Stinson is in a class by himself among Southern California country performers.

The universally respected singer-songwriter has issued two widely admired independent albums, Jack of All Heartache and Last Fool at the Bar, and 2009 will see the release of his third CD, The Jukebox In Your Heart, produced by the noted Austin, Texas musician Jesse Dayton and recorded at Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studios.

Active on the booming Los Angeles country-rock scene since 2001, Virginia-born Stinson draws inspiration from such stylistic progenitors as Nelson, Merle Haggard, Ray Price, George Jones, Bob Dylan, and Gram Parsons. He has made the honky-tonk template his own, spinning a distinctive take on the barroom muse in sharply-crafted songs that are by turns rousingly comic and profoundly heartbreaking. His evocative wordplay, emotional directness, and down-to-earth sincerity as both a songsmith and performer have forged an abiding bond with his fans.

Other performers have caught on to Stinson’s impassioned writing: His contemporary classic “The Late Great Golden State” has been covered by both Dwight Yoakam and Billy Bob Thornton. His music has also made inroads in Hollywood: Stinson’s songs have been heard on the soundtracks to the hit TV shows Mad Men, Weeds, and Cold Case, and in the feature comedy National Lampoon’s Adam and Eve.

A knock-‘em-down live performer, Stinson has attracted a legion of devoted followers with eight years of saloon-rocking shows. He is a perennially popular attraction, and plays packed-to-the-walls residencies at the Redwood Bar & Grill in downtown L.A., the Cinema Bar in Culver City, and the Grand Ole Echo at the Echo in Echo Park.

– Chris Morris

Big Sandy & His Fly Rite-Boys|| Listen || Watch
Since forming in 1988, Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys have emerged as one of the world’s most respected practitioners of American roots music, western swing, rockabilly, and traditional country—playing it like they invented it. “I think of us as just a rock and roll band, a rock and roll band that’s letting the roots show,” says bandleader Big Sandy. Whether they’re playing the Grand Ole Opry, Late Night With Conan O’Brien, or simply climbing out of a bus after rolling into your town, these guys are bringing us some great old-time rock and roll.

The first lyric on their newest release, Turntable Matinee, commands us to “Drop the needle in the groove and start to move!” That opening track—”The Power of the 45, Part 1″—is a dance call to arms as well as a love song to the group’s musical influences. – Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys

*Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys will be playing @ Echoplex

Eilen Jewell || Listen||Watch
It is the battered cassette jammed in the tape deck of the getaway car, the music Ida Lupino
cues up on the roadhouse jukebox as she counts the till after close. This is Queen of the Minor
Key by Eilen Jewell, a smart cookie with a heart of burnished gold and enough stories to
keep even the rowdiest crowd hanging on her every word. Though its long shadows and
dark corners make her kingdom feel intimate, her sovereign domain stretches as far as
the imagination. Its denizens seek refuge in padded rooms, abandoned automobiles… and
strong spirits. They defend their territory by any means necessary: weird voodoo, sawed-off
shotguns, broken bottles.

But beware, savvy observer. There is more to Eilen Jewell than meets the ear. Do not confuse
the singer and her songs. The drama and darkness that give Queen of the Minor Key its gritty
texture are in short supply in the Boston-based songwriter’s personal life. And in a curious
twist, these fourteen originals actually took shape in a sunny, idyllic location that contrasts
strikingly with the album’s moody, film noir atmosphere.

In August 2010, Jewell headed to a tiny cabin in the mountains of Idaho. Although her clan
hails from the Gem State, this was no comfy retreat at the family fold. Her temporary abode
had no running water or electricity, and sat at the end of a winding dirt road. Wild elk would
graze in the surrounding meadows while she worked. When it was time to unwind, she
availed herself of a nearby hot springs. A dilapidated truck she found on the property even
made its way into the album artwork.

She had no set game plan, and her sole objective for the new material was refreshingly
modest (or incredibly daunting, depending on your point of view). “My goal as a songwriter
is to always improve,” she demurs. “Every time I make a record, I want it to be even more
real, more heartfelt, than the one before it. I want the slow songs to be slower and the fast
songs to be faster.” Drawing on a connoisseur’s love of roots music and a writer’s eye for
detail, Jewell fashions her musical vignettes with impressive economy. Each turn of phrase
and chord change is executed with an élan that belies the measured precision behind it.

Jewell is wary of repeating previous success by following formulae. “But I also don’t want
to change things just for the sake of changing them,” she adds. Never underestimate the
public’s ability to recognize calculation masquerading as inspiration. “You always want to
ride the creative process to new territory, without being overwhelmingly novel.”

Towards that end, she experimented with dark humor in the new material. The title tune
takes inspiration from a poke someone made about her harmonic preferences. “I decided
to run with that and adopt the moniker, even if it started off as a nickname that wasn’t
necessarily intended to be flattering.” “Bang Bang Bang” eschews the cliché of Cupid as a
rosy-cheeked cherub (“he’s more reckless and violent than that”), and replaces his petite
bow-and-arrow with a gun show six-gauge, plus a laughing disregard for such trivial
concerns as aim.

Queen of the Minor Key is also the first Eilen Jewell album to feature a significant number
of guest players, even as she continues to work in close consort with her longtime trio of
drummer Jason Beek, guitarist Jerry Miller, and upright bassist Johnny Sciascia. Zoe Muth
and Big Sandy (of Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys) both contribute vocals. “I was writing
the songs with them in mind—if I could work up the courage to ask them—so I was really
honored that they agreed to sing with me.” Further augmenting the sound are Rich Dubois
on fiddle, David Sholl on tenor and baritone saxophones, and Tom West on organ. The
arrangements, Jewell insists, occurred organically as the music was fleshed out in the studio;
the songs tell her where they want to go. “We don’t really think it out that much.”

Since her official 2006 debut, Boundary County, Jewell has surveyed a wide range of
traditional musical styles, from the folk and jug band leanings of her early recordings,
through an album-length homage to Loretta Lynn and the country gospel of her work with
The Sacred Shakers, right up to 2009′s Sea of Tears, which bristled with the electricity
of ’60s UK garage rock and Chicago blues. Queen of the Minor Key draws on everything from
classic country (the fiddle-driven “Reckless”) to early R&B (the shuffling “Hooked”), with
an emphasis on sounds from the seamier side of the tracks. With dirty sax riffs and low-
slung guitars, the instrumentals that bookend the album—”Radio City” and “Kalimotxo”—
evoke the bump-and-grind exotica of vintage Southern California suburban saloons. Yet on
the flipside, Jewell imbues slow, jazzy numbers like “I Remember You” and “Only One” with
torch and tenacity that linger long past last call.

Eilen Jewell is the Queen of the Minor Key. Sad songs are her wealth and finery. Lend her your
ears, and you will quickly hear why her humble subjects admire and adore her more with
each passing year.

*Eilen Jewell will be playing @ Echoplex

JESSE SYKES AND PHIL WANDSCHER || Listen || Watch
Jesse Sykes is a Seattle-based singer-songwriter. Her backing band is The Sweet Hereafter, which features Phil Wandscher (late of Whiskeytown) on guitar.

In 2002 they christened their “collective” Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter.

Jesse Sykes (formerly Jesse Solomon) belonged to another band, Hominy, along with her former husband Jim Sykes, who played guitar. The band released a self-titled album in 1998 on the Ivy label. Other members of The Sweet Hereafter include Anne Marie Ruljancich (also of the Walkabouts), Bill Herzog on bass, Kevin Warner on drums (for the first two albums) and currently Eric Eagle on drums. Most recently Jesse contributed vocals to the song “The Sinking Belle (Blue Sheep)” from the Sunn O))) & Boris collaboration album Altar. Bill Herzog, Phil Wandescher also contributed to Altar.

Whitey Morgan & The 78′s|| Listen || Watch
Whitey Morgan and the 78’s are a Honky Tonk band from Flint, Michigan. They haven’t re-invented the wheel. They just picked it up and started it rolling all over again.

In Flint, most of the factories are closed, jobs are scarce and the people are bitter. Whitey sings songs these people can relate to. In much the same way his grandfather and mentor did over 3 decades ago, to a whole generation of southern transplants who came up US-23 to Flint looking for the good life. Whitey sings it straight, with a “gawd, I wanna keep this guy on my side in a bar fight” urgency that’ll help people forget their problems for a few hours and serve as the guideline for drinking the sorrows away. The 78’s halftime groove brings out everyone’s dancing shoes and while Whitey and the 78’s play, the world is a better place.

Since the release of their first album Honky Tonks and Cheap Motels, Whitey and the band have revived a forgotten genre with a fierce dedication and determination. They’ve toured the country spreading their sound and real deal vibe everywhere they go. They play honky-tonk tunes in any club in any town without apology and with a purpose. Look out, this bad news sounds real good.

Around 200 shows a year you can count on Whitey Morgan and the 78’s to deliver. Whitey’s whiskey tinged vocals, the 78’s foot stomping beats, all relentlessly stirring up dance floors everywhere they go. The bottle turns up, spirits elevate and in this world, there isn’t a person who couldn’t use Whitey Morgan and the 78’s.Bloodshot Records

*Whitey Morgan & The 78′s will be playing @ Echoplex

Jackshit|| Listen
Pete Thomas, a drummer since he was a kid in Sheffield, England, joined Elvis Costello to form the Attractions and continues as the drummer for the Imposters. He has also played as a session musician with countless artists including Johnny Cash, Sheryl Crow, Neil Finn, John Wesley Harding, Joe Jackson, Los Lobos, Joan Osbourne, Pearl Jam, Bonnie Raitt, Squeeze, Richard Thompson, Rufus Wainwright, and the Waterboys. In 2003, Thomas was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Along with Davey Faragher of the Imposters and Val McCallum of Jackson Browne’s band, they create country rock magic with their band Jackshit. LAist

*Jackshit will be playing @ Echo

BRENNEN LEIGH || Listen || Watch
In just a few years, Brennen Leigh—alongside brother Seth Hulbert—has firmly established herself as one of the Lone Star State’s premiere singers and songwriters. Leigh burst onto the national eye with her stunning joint effort with Jesse Dayton, Holdin’ our Own, which placed well on the Americana Radio charts in 2008.

Leigh started her career as a Minnesota bluegrass musician, and broadened her efforts from there. Her third solo album promises a time-honored, contry-tinged sound, fresh from the hills of Texas.

*Brennen Leigh will be playing @ Echo

David Serby & The Dirt Poor Folklore||Facebook || Watch
David Serby 2009 release, Honkytonk and Vine, was a welcome blast from Los Angeles’ honky-tonk past. The pointy-toed cowboy boots he wore on the album cover were matched by twangy country two-steppers that recalled the mid-80s Southern California roots renaissance of the Blasters, Dwight Yoakam and others. His follow-up retains the country melodies, but drops the rhythm-driven honky-tonk in favor of acoustic guitars, accordion, mandolin, banjo, dobro, fiddle and harmonium.

The ten songs essay the economic and social concerns of nineteenth century workers, but find repeated resonance with contemporary issues: union turmoil, damaged soldiers returning from war, displaced populations, and investors swindled by financiers. Though the specifics have changed – Iraq rather than Gettysburg, gentrified neighborhoods rather than the Sioux Nation, computers rather than assay offices – the results are despairingly the same. But so too is the spirit and bravery that Serby’s characters demonstrate, as miners return to the dark recesses of their work, and a destitute teenage mother turns from tears to a hopeful prayer.

This is an imaginatively written record, the sort that Johnny Cash pioneered with his historical travelogues at Columbia. The CD package is superbly finished, with the cover’s weathered edges complemented by the booklet’s vintage typography and poster reproductions. Those looking for another whirl around the dance floor may be disappointed by the introspective nature of the project, but anyone who enjoyed the craft of Serby’s earlier releases will find even deeper artistry here. Where Honkytonk and Vine spun clever song titles into smoothly rhyming lyrics, Poor Man’s Poem tells stories from the characters, and in doing so reflects on the struggles we all face today.Hyperbolium

Eastside Hayride || Watch

*Eastside Hayride will be playing Outside the Echoplex

The Broken Numbers|| Listen || Watch

Olentangy John || Listen
Olentangy John is John Atzberger and himself, whom he discovered at a secluded campsite somewhere in the Appalachian foothills in late 2002. The two have since evolved a style that sounds partly new and partly old and totally new. O! Be Joyful is Olentangy’s first full-length, the result of several years of months and days and minutes and seconds.Trailer Fire Records

The Driftwood Singers || Listen||Watch
“The Driftwood singers write songs. This in itself is not uncommon, there is a long history of people who write songs. What makes The Driftwood Singers stand out is that they have tapped into a history that pulses with vitality, despite its aesthetics having been formed upwards of 100 years ago. The Driftwood singers write old songs. They write, damn good, damn old, songs. Dedicated to their craft, their close harmonies and sublime arrangements have them compared often to the Carter Family. Inherent in their work is something darker though, that underlines familiar early American themes of transience, mortality and yes, damnation while brimming with contemporary discontent. Their gospel songs are conflicted, their murder ballads are not fraught with bloodlust, and their drinking songs beg for hope. Whether in duo or with the whole Driftwood ensemble they are not to be missed.”The Driftwood Singers

The Eagle Rock Gospel Singers || Listen

Nikki Lane || Listen||Watch
If artists wear their backgrounds on their sleeve, none sound as similar to their environment as Nikki Lane. From LA by way of Greenville, South Carolina, she offers a tempting blend of deep south Americana and west coast sepia rock – think Best Coast meets Jack White protégée. Her latest, ‘Gone Gone Gone’ is produced by none other than Fools Gold’s Lewis Pesacov, a while-my-slide-guitar-gently-weeps classic in the making put out on LA’s Iamsound.NME

My Graveyard Jaw || Listen||Watch
Stix aka Michael James has been playing music and living in New Orleans for over a decade. traveling with groups such as, The End of The World Circus, Clowns Not Bombs, The Know Nothing Family Circus Side Show, and The New Orleans Bingo Show. In 2002 Michael James formed My Graveyard Jaw, and within the year producing the album “Songs about you but Not for You”. Growing tremendously since 2002…, known for their defining the fusion of haunting gypsy blues, folk , and country music, they push to progress the essence of New Orleans sound. My Graveyard Jaw has recently released their 5th album “Coming Winds ” featuring members of the Zydepunks, Denis Bonis on violin and Scott Potts on Bass. Recently taking on a second violinist Sebastian, of Roses Pawn Shop, cellist Alleyn Evans.

Restavrant || Listen||Watch
Narnack Records presents this Texas duo’s raging garage punk influenced swamp rock that guarantees a good night out. Banjos, guitars, and some extremely interesting percussion (oil drums, boxes, license plates & whatever else they can pull from the local dumpster!…) plus a heaping spoonful of hillbilly = GOOD TIMES.

Gwendolyn || Listen
Gwendolyn’s Lower Mill Road: With some idiosyncratic time changes and mannered yet playful vocals Gwendolyn definitely sounds at times like Robin Williamson’s little sister. Opening song “Lady Belle” mines the Incredible String Band’s leylines and “Drumming Down Water” would not be out of place on “The Layers of the Onion” album. There is also an undercurrent of that weird faux folk to be found on the Wickerman soundtrack although without the sinister aspects… and a tiny little hint of Nick Drake peeks from behind the curtains. – Paul Kerr, Americana UK

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