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Pickin" & Grinnin"
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Dark and Weary World
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South Austin Jug Band Album Review:
Tremendous ! at 2006-04-20
I saw these guys at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival and was blown away.Their guitar player James Hyland is one of the great voices and writers in Texas style country music today.If you love the likes of Steve Earle, Guy Clark, Lyle Lovett etc. and if you like bands like The Waybacks and Yonder Mountain, then get both of South Austin Jug Bands CDs and if youre lucky youll be able to find a copy of the James Hyland Band CD which I believe is out of print, but is one of my all time favorites!! Al Sharpe , New York
South Austin Jug Band Album Review:
For starters... at 2006-02-20
Well I havent heard the entire album yet, still waiting for it in the mail.But the songs I have heard on the net are awesome. Dark and Weary World is my favorite song. It paints a perfect picture of northern California coast, my home. Awesome indie-country group. I recomend them.
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South Austin Jug Band
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South Austin Jug Band Album Review:
Great Musicians Overcome So-So Vocals at 2004-08-03
Most bands would kill to put out a debut album as accomplished as SAJBs debut. This is one fun band! While others may engage in heated debates over the precise genre this band fits into, neophytes like myself are content to refer to SAJB as bluegrass . . . albeit modern bluegrass. But like any artistic endeavor, the key is the product, not the genre. SAJBs debut combines several covers (5, I think) out of twelve songs. Conceptually, the most audacious is SAJBs take on the Jimi Hendrix standard, Little Wing. But the other remakes have their own merits and deserve a listen. Tracks on this album that are personal faves include Hill Country Nights, a nostalgic nod to playing good tunes in good Texas Hill Country bars, and The Ballad of Eddie Mullet, a tale of dime-store crime and regret. Good song-writing and some fine pickin-and-fiddlin help these songs stand out, but dont take this as a slight to the other tunes . . . this is a good album from start to finish. This is not a party album in the rock-the-house sense -- SAJB is not trying to be another Reverend Horton Heat or Southern Culture on the Skids. But its a great album for beers with friends, or for the drive to the lake. The bands proficiencies with the bass, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, and other instruments overcome lead singer James Hylands so-so vocals. While Hylands voice is pleasant enough, its kind of thin and light and doesnt seem to vary much from song to song. Again, for neophytes like me who have come to bluegrass music through the likes of Allison Krauss and Union Station (with voices and harmonies that make the spirit soar), Hylands voice doesnt demand that you pay attention. This is not intended to be a harsh criticism -- only that Hylands voice is what keeps this album from being five stars. Better yet, lets give this caveat: if youre driving along a country road in a pick-up truck and having one of those quiet moments of introspection -- then its a five-star album.
South Austin Jug Band Album Review:
One of my favorite CDs at 2004-05-06
I havent met anyone who dislikes this CD- Even people that dislike bluegrass usually find this CD enjoyable. Im really surprised these guys havent gotten a record contract yet. The original songs are unique and well written; I hope they come play here soon.
South Austin Jug Band Album Review:
Likely to be one of your best finds of 2004 and beyond at 2004-04-04
I have had the immense pleasure to see The South Austin Jug Band play in person many times. They are uncommonly good musicians, some of the best young bluegrass/newgrass players you will find this side of Nickel Creek. Their live concerts are full of wonderful sound, fun, humor, and great energy.This CD captures their spirit and musical ability very well. The mullet song is humorous and catchy. Little Wing is an excellent rendition of the Hendrix favorite done as well as any remake. Hill Country Nights and Motor City Man are two of my favorite tracks. Both can be listened to endlessly for the lyrics and great music-making. If you have stumbled across this listing somehow, you are lucky indeed. This CD deserves to be selling much better than it is. Buy it and tell your friends. It is likely to be enjoyed more buy you than the next 5 or 10 CDs you get, so why not do something nice for yourself and get it?
South Austin Jug Band Album Review:
THIS IS ONE GREAT CD at 2004-03-25
I BUY 5 TO 10 CDS A MONTH.MANY ARE SWING CDS,SOME COUNTRY,SOME BLUES. SOMETIMES I LUCK INTO A GEM.THIS IS ONE OF THOSE.HARD TO PUT A LABLE ON THESE GUYS BUT THEY ROCK.
South Austin Jug Band Album Review:
Lots of strings bursting with bright, breezy pep at 2004-01-21
Jamgrassers, take note. Youll like this disc. While mostly original material, the South Austin Jug Band opens their debut album with a nod to tradition with Long Journey Home. Two guitars, fiddle, mandolin, bass. With lots of strings bursting with bright, breezy pep, the South Austin Jug Band is not a jug band, but they certainly have that ol jug band spirit. Theyve been called bluegrass (nope!), newgrass (I doubt it), neo-Jug (whats that?), acoustic country-folk (too plain and simple for these guys!), Texas roots unplugged (I like it!), swinging Lone Star beatnik country (thats better...). Especially when they sing their original of Texas, Hill Country Nights, with references to navy skies, trees of green, stars, and country breezes. The band very smartly incorporated a few of Lloyd Maines tasty dobro riffs and fills into the mix on this song, but I wish they wouldve given him a full break....or even half of one!These guys are full of the old GO. The group initially formed as a pick-up band for a gig that singer/songwriter and guitarist James Hyland had. For some help, Hyland called on bassist Will Dupuy, mandolinist Matt Slusher, guitarist Willie Pipkin and fiddler Warren Hood. The guys clicked, the music jelled, and everybody had a good time. The bands quintet is supplemented with two special guests -- Lloyd Maines (dobro) and Warren Hood (violin on Motor City Man and second violin on Old Settlers Breakdown). There are a couple numbers that a guest banjo-player could have really torn up, but no matter. The band emphasizes hotly picked (or sawed) guitar, mandolin, and fiddle. I was prepared to dislike their acoustic cover of Jimmy Hendrixs Little Wing, but its actually a nice, innovative resurrection and interpretation of the sixties song that showcases Ludikers fine bowing. Walter Hyatts Motor City Man is an equally fine rendition but wouldve been enhanced by its sequential presentation in the set after Slusher and Hoods Ramen Noodle Rag, instead of before it. The South Austin Jug Band (SAJB) has a charming appeal that will attract a younger generation to acoustic music. Besides their obvious youthful exuberance and musical talent, the professional production skills of Lloyd Maines have been employed, who has experience producing The Dixie Chicks, Robert Earl Keen and Ray Wylie Hubbard. One slight complaint is that the bold liner notes and lyrics superimposed over a dark or gray background make the discs jacket a little unaesthetic and difficult to read.Seven of the twelve tracks are original offerings. Of Hylands compositions, I took an immediate liking to My Baby in the Sunshine, and his desire to buy up all the sunshine and give it all to you. The song has a strong bluegrassy flavor and might have been embellished with a hot guest banjo picker. His Ballad of Eddie Mullet is an outlaws tale whose robbing and murdering ways result in life without parole. Slushers funky Turanaround has few lyrics and a short message to relax and watch your whole day turnaround. Dupuy sings of a lost love and a lonely place between Cactus and Caliche, written abut 6 months after the horrific breakup of a 2-year relationship. Besides Ramen Noodle Rag, another instrumental, Cuttin the Mullet, (a duet collaboration of the bands bass and mandolin players) is a finely-paced romp that also cuts the mandolin mustard in addition to the mullet, a type of haircut also known as the Mississippi mud flap. As a unit, the SAJB shows a number of musical influences, but one primary mentor was Warren Hoods late father, Champ Hood, an Austin music legend. His groups, The Threadgills Troubadours and Uncle Walts Band (which also included the late Walter Hyatt and David Ball), obviously saw the South Austin Jug Band as a rejuvenation of their own approach to music. The SAJB are another generation of prolific musicians to carry on as one part Austins invigorated acoustic music scene. A weekly gig at Momos, a live album recorded there, and a diverse repertoire helped them to build a legion of loyal fans. When Hood left the band to attend Berklee College of Music, they called on Washington State fiddler Dennis Ludiker. The Jug Band took the new band contest at the 2002 Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and Ludiker took first place at the prestigious Winfield, KS. fiddle competition.Slusher calls their music an organized campfire acoustic jam session with a few of the rough edges knocked off, but not all of them. Its people playing good music, having a good time, and giving it 100 percent. While the South Austin Jug Band may still have a few remnant rough edges, they maintain a very active and busy touring schedule. However, they need better promotion! When recently touring the Pacific Northwest in January, 2004, I just stumbled upon their schedule while writing this review. With a little luck and growth, this band could really go places. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)
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