Bound to Ramble

I am a music lover. That's the cold honest truth. I like most kinds of music, but what gets me is mainly rock. Rock is all good. It's kinda like the universal translation that bridges the gaps with everyone in my opinion. I mean back in the 50's and 60's we had Elvis, Chuck Berry, James Brown, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, all these great acts to spawn out all of the different genres that we have in existence today such has modern rock, country, soul, r&b, bluegrass, gospel... You name it, they started it way back when. But that's enough of a retrospective, now I want to go and see what I thought were pretty damn good acts and how they might have been overlooked in today's times. I feel that they should definitely get some recognition for their talent and perseverance in the art that they produce.

First off the top of my head is the John Butler Trio. This Austrian group is pretty laid back and relaxing, but very straight and to the point in their music. I'm actually reminded of their song 'Bound to Ramble' as I'm posting on this blog as we speak. It's nice and kinda nomadic as well. Some of my favorite songs from them are 'Bound to Ramble', 'Zebra', and 'I Used to Get High.' They have a smooth, well thought out orchestrated feeling to them where simplicity meets awesomeness from the simple rhythm and blues to an off the beaten path alternative technique. Also the multifaceted talents from each of the band members themselves bring a uniqueness not found in most bands. John Butler himself plays 6-string and 12-string guitars, a steel lap guitar, and a banjo for different songs while the bass player switches from electric bass to a double bass (with and without a bow) for different songs as well. The drummer has a wide array of percussion mediums from a standard drum kit to bongos and even utilizing other means of percussion as well. The John Butler Trio; you don't have to rock hard to know that you rock.

Another band that needs recognition is doubleDrive. These guys in my opinion is definitely one the the best bands, EVER!!! This short lived band from Atlanta, GA indeed rocked the casbah during their inception. They have a feel of many of what in my opinion made rock what it was and supposed to be in my generation: part grunge, part alternative, part heavy, all badass. With in my opinion one of the best vocalists in the business Donnie Hamby can tell a story like no other. Compliment that with the awesome rhythm section of bassist Josh Sattler and Mike Froedge and (once again in my opinion) the sickest guitarist in the world Troy McLawhorn, you had a powerhouse. Too bad that they decided to go separate ways in 2003 into different projects, but their music still rock on to this day for me. I don't think that I go one day without either having one of their guitar riffs or saying a line from one of their songs in my head (btw, 'Track 7' FTW). Tracks to listen to I'd recommend would be 'Tattooed Bruise', '11:59' and the one mentioned from before (yes, that's the title of the song). doubleDrive, just badass.

One final one cause this is getting long enough. This is yet, another band that is disbanded, but this was more about business and ethics in the industry, rather than running other music projects. Tsunami Bomb was a punk rock band from California that was unique and innovative all in one sweet package. Fronted by Agent M, this lady belted some powerful chords that haven't been done since Gwen Stefani and the boys from No Doubt were still doing good music instead of bubblegum-pop. And although the rest of the band were a motley crew of three-chord power punk musicians (and their quirky keyboardist featured in their first EP), when the time came for them to perform, it was something that would make those that were fans of Pennywise, Bad Religion, and other punk greats buckle at their knees. It incorporated all that was good in punk-rock and amplified it to the Mth. power. Songs like 'Lemonade', 'My Machete', and 'Take the Reins' were just some of it greatness in their catalog.

So that's just a sample of what I hope to keep up and bring forth. There are a lot of great acts out there and I feel that their limelight needs to shine either just a little bit brighter or just to shine on one more time to appreciate what effort they brought forth in their art. I'll try to keep up with more acts that needing to be recognized, but as for now...

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...