I never thought to put the two words “country” and “funk” together. But that’s just what the guys in Stone River Boys are up to. You can hear both ends of that spectrum on “The Struggle” from their latest record Love On The Dial with it’s incessant bass line, groovy horn section, and and both funky and country guitar. I’m honestly not sure if it works for me.

The band consists of Dave Gonzalez of the Hacienda Brothers and Mike Barfield of the Hollisters. Live they have a full band with pedal steel and I imagine it’s a funky good time.

The Struggle

I was hoping this song from the forthcoming Watermelon Slim record “Ringers” had a touch of twang so I could fit it into the Friday honky-tonk feature. Luckily for me (and you) it’s got a full size heaping of twang from the pedal steel to the duet to the lyrics about “good old boys”.

Preorder this June 1st release through Northern Blues here and receive a signed copy.

Good Old Boys Never Change

Bonus tracks from back catalog:

Don’t Go
Black Water

Miss Leslie is both a fan and creator of real country music based out of Houston, Tx. Her own music blog is a treasure trove of music videos of legends from the past as well as a diary of a woman who juggles her music, her life, and her family. Wrong Is What I Do Best is her new CD. She is releasing it herself and doing all the press and promotion.

Here’s the title track “Wrong Is What I Do Best”. It’s your basic good-girl-mixed-up-with-a-bad-guy” country music song elevated to another level with guitar by the amazing Bill Kirchen, pedal steel by Ricky Davis, and fiddle by Miss Leslie herself.

Get your signed copy of this record here for only 8 buck via Miss Leslie’s blog.

Wrong Is What I Do Best

What is it about drinking and country music. If songs aren’t about trucking than they are invariably about drinking. And more importantly why do I like these songs? Me, a guy who has to stop drinking soon after the first one. I wrote about the Austin based band (duo) The Texas Sapphires back in 2006 here. There new record is called As He Wanders… and is out on April 6. You can order it here now.

“How Did I Get So Sloppy Drunk When I Was Drinking Neat” is the drunkenest song on the new record. Enjoy and treat this as a cautionary tale for the weekend ahead.

How Did I Get So Sloppy Drunk When I Was Drinking Neat

For awhile I thought Twitter was going to change the world. Now I see it for what it is – a discovery vehicle for anything and everything you might be interested in. The whole “change the world” thing is not gonna happen mainly because the kids don’t use it or even understand what the point of it is (they already have myspace, facebook, texting, et al). But still if you follow the “right” people you can use Twitter as your very own recommendation engine. I’ve done just that for this post on D. Charles Speer & The Helix’s new record Distillation and the leadoff track “Mason Dixon Crime”.

On the surface these guys may seem like conventional honky-tonk, but the guys behind D. Charles Speer are also the guys behind the NYC experimental band No Neck Blues Band. So while you can take them at face value and enjoy the twang, you also can delve a bit beneath the surface to find the little cross currents and minor revolutions bubbling up.

Buy the new EP here.

Mason Dixon Crime

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Thanks in part to Twitter once again, the boys from Herohill and Slowcoustic have picked up on the new record by Cam Penner. Check out their posts here and here. In case you missed it last week here is Cam’s song “13″.

13

Honky-tonk Friday came a little early this week with the (virtual) arrival of the new record by Martinsville, Virginia natives Doug & Telisha Williams. The record’s called Ghost of the Knoxville Girl and sits squarely in the intersection of blues, country and roots. Much like the recent record from Eilen Jewell “Knoxville Girl” isn’t content to stick with just one genre. There are Bruce Springsteenesque social consciousness raising rockers like “20 Point 2″ and eerie murder/ghost ballads like the title track.

For honky-tonk fans it’s the first track that shines. I just love Telisha’s voice on “Kitchen Light” and the song features tasty pedal steel and just the right combination of bass and drums.

You can buy the new record here via Cd Baby.

Kitchen Light

Our occasional Honky-Tonk Friday feature had to arrive a day early when I heard the new ep from Arty Hill & the Long Gone Daddys. Arty Hill is pure country and this record is a trip back in time to and about the earliest country legends. The EP is called Montgomery On My Mind; The Hank EP and is available on the great real country label Cow Island Music.

Church On Saturday Night

There was a time when I religiously followed Camper Van Beethoven. I liked their sound more when it was frantic folk based rather than punky. I also followed all the spinoff bands and solo records. That time has passed though and I no longer am up to date on all the goings on in the old Camper Van clique. Enter McCabe & Mrs. Miller.

However, when I heard about this record by Victor Krummenacher and Alison Faith Levy of The Sippy Cups I was intrigued. From Victor’s past recordings I knew he leaned more folk/country than punk. Together Victor and Alison have that kind of California americana sound. A sound that is dusty but at the same time refined. I think of Chuck Prophet and Dave Alvin being in that same mold as well. Here’s a sample from their new debut record Time For Leaving. Pick it up now at the newly redesigned CD Baby here.

Fare Thee Well

I’ve said it before but it bears repeating. Brooklyn is the home of some pretty kick ass alt-country/honky-tonk bands. I’ll Be John Brown is one of the latest additions to a thriving scene. Their new self-titled CD is out now and available from CD Baby here.

The band’s song “My New South” reminds me of some of the cowpunk from the 80′s (like some of the stuff by The Dead Milkmen). The band definitely infuses their twangy country with equal parts punk rock energy. “My New South” is the band’s dream vision of what the South could be like with lines like “billboards will be kindling”, “people of all colors will be all better bowlers and you’ll rarely see a cop”, “courtesy will be a cash crop and the last Walmart burns to the ground”.

The band has what sounds to be a great show coming up at the Living Room on July 4.

My New South

If you’re like me and are wondering who the hell Arty Hill and the Long Gone Daddy’s is and why their 5 year old debut record Back On the Rail is in the top ten of the Americana Charts then let me explain. the band’s debut has just recently been re-released. And apparently this 5 year old honky-tonk is better than most of the stuff coming out at the moment. Unfortunately I don’t have anything from Back On The Rail but check out these samples from the band’s followup Bar Of Gold.

I may all be a little late catching up with Arty Hill but now that I have them on my radar I’m going to play closer attention. Their next project is a Hank Williams tribute that mixes covers with originals called Montgomery On My Mind: The Hank EP.

Tore Up Junction

Don’t Take It Out On Tina