Kingston, Ontario’s Tom Savage fourth studio album called The County Line recently founds its way to my ears.  Even though it is a 2008 release it deserves your attention if you haven’t heard it.  This is the first release under the Tom Savage Trio name. The trio consists of Tom Savage – guitar, vocals and mandolin; Geoff Chown – bass; and Sandy Mackenzie -drums, backing vocals. Think of them as a modern day Americana power trio, at least on this disc. While previous releases from Tom (solo) have been more acoustic, this disc is plugged in and rowdy!

There are nine high octane cuts on the disc, which opens in a hurry with Leaving In A Hurry. The highlight of the disc is the title track, with a guitar attack I imagine must be great to hear live! Perhaps speaking of himself, or maybe some of his obvious influences (Neil Young) is the line from the track Old Rock ‘N’ Rollers:
“Old rock ‘n’ rollers never die, they just keep rollin’ on”

The only time they slow down for a breath is on Tired Old Cliche.  Then its back to full speed and on the road for 48 Hours.  Then like a good power trio, they end with the lengthy tune Arizona, which features a long power chord fade out ending that even does fade out and return! I held up my lighter when it was done!!

If you like your Americana amped up, i.e. The Bottle Rockets or Drive-By-Truckers then you are sure to like this disc, yet another stellar release from our neighbors to the North!

Nashville, Austin, Memphis……Anchorage??  Last year we wrote about Alaska band The Whipsaws on our site.  I’m happy to report that we have another tasty musical export from the Cold North.  Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you The Council Of Smokers And Drinkers.  Our friend Von has played the group on his podcast recently so you may have already heard of these guys.  I know it gets cold and dark for a good portion of the year up there, so I suppose the band has had plenty of inside time to write tunes and play together.  Lead man Russell Biggs spent considerable time in Texas, some of it in medical school. I’m not sure if he ever graduated so I don’t know if he can heal a body, but I know the music can sure heal the soul!!

Describing their sound the band says, “the tone has a heavy blues influence dripping from the twin flame Stratocasters and is complimented with wry, and sometimes dark, true-to-life lyrics thoroughly cooked from a youth misspent in the Texas sun.”    Their debut disc Grizzled starts off with a bang with Tupelo Road, set about as far from their northern home as you can be and still be in the same country! For a lively upbeat “glass half full” look at life check out Chicken in the Pan:
“Every day I’m sailing further on the ship of fools,
they treat me like a stepchild, beat me like a rented mule.
Lord Lord, but I’m a happy man.

My girl’s got lipstick on her lips,
And chicken in the pan.”

The songs are well written and the band is tight;  probably from having to huddle together to keep warm!  If you’re looking for an ode to ice or a groove about grizzlies you won’t find it here. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard an Americana tune about Alaska, but the place is certainly worthy.  I’ve been there, and it is one of the most beautiful places on earth. These tunes center on the deep south, from Georgia to Texas and points in between.  I really like their debut effort and hope they keep on delivering!

Anyone with younger kids is probably familiar with Veggie Tales, the singing vegetables with the religious messages.  Well, if Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato were left in the vegetable drawer a bit too long and started to ferment, they’d probably come out fit to join the latest incarnation of the Asylum Street Spankers.  Wammo and the rest of the Spankers are back with their latest, God’s Favorite Band.  The talented and wacky ensemble mixes humor with some darn good playing to deliver their version of Vaudvillian Americana.

The bands stuff is consistently good and entertaining on many levels.  The lyrics are smart, humorous and often politically relevant.  They’re no slouch players though; listen to By and By from the new disc to get a taste of how they can kick it musically.  They are influenced by many styles of music, including Southern Gospel, as evident on Jesus Walkin on the Water. This is a group made for live performance, and much of their recorded material is live stuff.

If you’re not familiar with this band, a good place to start is YouTube, where a number of their tunes can be found.  Start with their classic Stick Magnetic Ribbons on Your SUV.  Good stuff!