|
6 january 2002 |
mighty hoedowny "Oh, Lordy," y'all are saying. "She's making up words again." Yuh-huh, I am! This is an extra-good one, used to describe extra-good music. I've mentioned these guys here a couple of times now, and last week it was suggested to me that perhaps I should write a review of their latest album. Darn good suggestion! And so, we open the new year of Lioness Den reviews with... (Drum roll, please.) The Two Dollar Pistols! Their new album is entitled "You Ruined Everything", and let me tell YOU, it is some mighty fine music. Many of you who keep up with everything-but-on-the-charts music (like me) are familiar with a genre that people are calling "alt-country". As No Depression Magazine says, "whatever that is". It is somewhat difficult to classify, as it encompasses all styles of country from honky-tonk, to Texas swing, to bluegrass-inspired singer-songwriters. Personally, I'm not totally sold on this whole "alternative country" business. The alternative to "country" is "city", and I'm yet to hear a pile of city music from these alt-folks. Frankly, I think a bunch of these fancy-pants types are just too uppity to admit that they're listening to country, and you can tell them Kim at the Lioness Den said so. Twang on, baby. That said, many of the new crop of singer-songwriters with a country sound are writing lyrics far outside the boundaries of drinkin' and cheatin'. It's country, sometimes a bit of rock, and often filled with poetic, even profound, lyrics. It's fun, and it's sung by people from a variety of backgrounds. These are not all coal-miners' daughters. They're the sons of insurance agents, teachers, and middle-class working joes. They live in Raleigh and Nashville, Austin and Pittsboro. The Two Dollar Pistols are just extra-fun. I like them for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is their showmanship when playing live. These guys are tight. John Howie Jr. is the lead singer and plays acoustic guitar, but he's no big-headed front man. Rather, you're going to see John turn his back to the audience while Scott McCall's guitar solos makes your guitar want to hang up its hat and become a banjo or something. He is really, really fun to watch because he's just that good. John then blasts out with that big baritone of his and some great vocal stylings. Neal Spaulding rounds them out on bass and backup vocals. They're all solid musicians and performers who don't take themselves too seriously. Make no mistake, though--they take their music plenty seriously. That's what good performers do.
Regarding the music itself, far from being one-note wonders, they'll honky-tonk you for awhile, then make you either want to slow dance, or not slow dance while you remember that girl who did that to you, too. (Who does she think she is?!?) "You Ruined Everything", their latest album, is filled with clever lyrics and good stories. Plenty of cheatin' and a little bit of drinkin', if I remember correctly, and lots of thought-provoking fun all the way through. So what, you ask, is "hoedowny"? WELL! Hoedowny music fills up rooms where feet tap on wooden floors. It's no alternative to country--it's just country, so there. Sometimes, it wears a hat. Always, it wears blue jeans. Rarely does it get above its raisin'.
The Two Dollar Pistols, "You Ruined Everything" |