Exene Cervenka - The Excitement of Maybe

Life has its own built-in forms of emotional and creative inertia. And while some people experience a gradual falling off of whatever it is that makes them unique and vibrant, that doesn’t seem to be the case with Exene Cervenka. The 54 year-old singer/songwriter’s life work has been all about constructing, deconstructing, persevering, and building back up again with new creative adjustments. Sometimes a broken bone leads to a strengthening of the rest of the body.

Stanley Wycoff And The Haymaker Band - SWIM INTO THE WHIRLPOOL

Swim into the Whirlpool is an album of Americana and Roots music that features Grammy award winner Dave Alvin ( Guilty Men / The Blasters), John Jorgenson ( The Desert Rose Band / Elton John’s lead guitar player), the late Chris Gaffney ( Guilty Men / Cold Hard Facts ), Rick Shea (Guilty Men) and many other celebrated artists.

WE ARE ONLY RIDERS: THE JEFFREY LEE PIERCE SESSIONS PROJECT

Amy Allison SHEFFIELD STREETS

SYD STRAW - PINK VELOUR

Raised in California and Vermont, schooled in New York, Syd Straw started her career as a back-up singer for Pat Benatar, then joined the eclectic Golden Palominos (featuring Michael Stipe, Matthew Sweet, and Anton Fier). In 1989, she released her first solo album Surprise on Virgin records. Her most recent album, War and Peace, features The Skeletons from Springfield, Missouri, deemed by Rolling Stone as "the greatest bar band of all time." In between and during all of this, Syd has maintained an acting career...

TOM WAITS - ORPHANS

When I was small I always thought that songwriters sat alone at upright pianos in cramped smoky little rooms with a bottle and an ashtray and everything came in the window blew through them and came out of the piano as a song... and in a weird way that is exactly what happens. What's Orphans? I don't know. Orphans is a dead end kid driving a coffin with big tires across the Ohio River wearing welding goggles and a wife beater with a lit firecracker in his ear...

GEOFF MULDAUR - PASSWORD

BILL MORRISSEY - COME RUNNING

Bill Morrissey's astute lyrical gifts and graceful, understated melodies have put him on festival stages across the world; into theatres, concert halls, and coffeehouses; garnered him critical acclaim from magazines, authors, and music peers; and have earned him two Grammy nominations. Bill Morrissey has created as impressive a body of work as any songwriter today, a collection of finely-honed songs that match his economy of lyric and melody with a writer’s gift for storytelling. ...

WANDA JACKSON - HEART TROUBLE

Heart Trouble, Wanda Jackson’s new album from CMH Records is her first studio recording in 15 years. Produced by John Wooler (Buena Vista Social Club’s Eliades Ochoa, Hadda Brooks, Pops Staples, Willie Nelson) Heart Trouble is an adventurous and eclectic mix of new songs and old favorites, showing that Jackson has lost none of the spirit that made her such a groundbreaking artist. The title track is a thoroughly modern Americana gem by Paul Kennerly featuring Wanda’s tart and sweet delivery, ....

THE DERAILERS - FULL WESTERN DRESS

Tennessee Border: Sonny Burgess with Dave Alvin

This is nothin' short of hot-wired, bluesy rockabilly, as fiery and alive as anything Burgess recorded during his heyday at Sun Records. Dave Alvin is as smoking on the 6-string as he's ever been, and Burgess' weathered vocals are in top form. It's a short record, but a keeper...Billy Davis of the Blasters/Dave Alvin newsletter says this may be his favorite Alvin album of all! Covers include jumping versions of "Old, Old Man" (made famous by Lefty Frizzell) and "Tennessee Border" ...

CHRIS GAFFNEY - LOSER'S PARADISE

CHRIS GAFFNEY - AND THE COLD HARD FACTS

Under the guidance of their rodeo clown leader, Chris Gaffney, the Cold Hard Facts ricochet from blue-eyed soul to traditional country to hard-edged straight ahead rock. Fifteen years of playing in every honky-tonk from their home base in Southern California to the heart of Texas have given the band a sound that is tight as a bowstring but comfortable as your favorite blue jeans. Gaffney heads up the band on vocals, guitar and accordion. Danny Ott pitches in on lead guitar and vocals....

CHRISTY McWILSON - BED OF ROSES

CHRISTY McWILSON -THE LUCKY ONE

ANDREW HARDIN - BLUE ACOUSTIC

The journey begins on a porch overlooking the Blanco River in the Texas Hill Country, where Andrew conspires with neighbor Ray Wylie Hubbard, who jumpstarts the proceedings the same way he always does any time he takes hold of a guitar - with a few soulful, swaggering blues licks. The arrangements are spare and all of the emphasis is on the playing and technique of these guitarists, including collaborations with Eliza Gilkyson, Dave Alvin, Tom Russell, Don Edwards and Washtub Jerry.

VICTOR KRUMMENACHER - BITTERSWEET

On his heartfelt new album Bittersweet, Victor Krummenacher tells it like it is, like it should be and like it never was. In his third (and so far best) solo album, co-founder of Camper Van Beethoven and Monks of Doom, Victor Krummenacher, takes the stage with his best friends around him and his heart on his sleeve. This labor of loves lost and found finds Krummenacher in fine mettle, with eleven tales of affairs of the heart that range from country-inflected ballads so sweet they’ll linger on your tongue like ...

RICK SHEA AND BRANTLEY KEARNS - TROUBLE AND ME

The album is based loosely on the connection between the music and traditions of North Carolina where Brantley grew up and the more contemporary folk and country music of California that they both have spent the better part of their lives playing.

In January 2002, Los Angeles area roots and country stalwart Rick Shea and fiddler/singer extraordinaire Brantley Kearns started ...

RICK SHEA - SAWBONES

COUNTRY DICK MONTANA - THE DEVIL LIED TO ME

News of Country Dick Montana's death on November 8, 1995 came hard to friends and fans of the 40 year-old drummer/vocalist and his band, the Beat Farmers. On the road promoting their eighth record, the group had just completed an American tour and were playing in Canada when Dick died on stage during a set at The Long Horn, a bar in Whistler, British Columbia. While Montana's untimely passing may've broken a few hearts, caused more than a few tears and left hundreds of dreams, hopes, plans and ...

BUDDY BLUE - DIPSOMANIA

BUDDY BLUE - GUTTERSNIPES AND ZEALOTS

CINDY LEE BERRYHILL - BELOVED STRANGER

JOHN DOE - A YEAR IN THE WILDERNESS

ohn Doe is back again. As a founding member of punk monoliths X, he seized his rightful place as one of the most influential musicians in American alternative music in the 1980's, clearing a path for the revolution in that genre that would take place a decade later. Since launching his solo career in 1990 with the dusty road-poetry of Meet John Doe, John has produced six stunning roots rock albums of frightening honesty and vision. A Year in the Wilderness is no exception.

JOHN DOE - FOREVER HASN'T HAPPENED YET

Your lopsided heart emptied out on Hwy 99 as you drop down into the Central Valley of California. There is a pain, like shortness of breath or a catch in your throat. Flat land, rusty wire, dirt and dust blows in the open car window. You can smell the irrigation water and someone's getting hurt out there. The skin is soft and bruises easily. Welcome home. yrs, John Doe

This is not punk rock but it uses all the same ingredients; ...

AMY FARRIS - ANYWAY

Though her brilliant career has encompassed violin duties for everyone from Ray Price to Kelly Willis to Brian Wilson, Amy Farris truly shines on her solo debut, "Anyway". With nods to classic Brill Building pop, Patsy Cline-era torch songs, western swing and Southern California cosmic country, Anyway presents a unique new voice with a profound sense of history. Produced by Dave Alvin (Dave also co-writes several tracks and plays on the record), this record should be one of the most exciting debut ...

THE IGUANAS - SUPER BALL

Released - 1996 Margaritaville / Island Records produced by Keith Keller and The Iguanas special guests: Dave Alvin, Chris Gaffney, Alex Chilton - vocals; Dave Malone, Tommy Malone - guitar; Armando Montiel - perc.

CANDYE KANE - GUITAR'D AND FEATHERED

Guitar'd & Feathered is a feast of soulful music. There is a stunning variety of styles and guests, but Candye sings with such depth and power that she is always the main course. The featured guest guitar players add their own trademark sounds to spice and inspire her vocal mastery. Guitar'd & Feathered begins and ends with Candye Kane. She is known for her exciting and entertaining - and sometimes adult-oriented - stage show. But Candye Kane is her real name and the woman you see at her shows ...

CANDYE KANE - DIVA LA GRANDE

CANDYE KANE - THE TOUGHEST GIRL ALIVE

Candye Kane she rocks and swings Sings like an angel with neon wings Her blues are hot like the sun above Can't get enough of her tough, tough love I kid you not, no joke no jive Candye IS the toughest girl alive Michael Heaton Minister of Culture Cleveland Plain Dealer Singer Candye Kane remolds vintage blues, swing and R&B into an ultra-modern sound that celebrates life as it delightfully flouts sexual and social convention. This is rockin' stuff, with Candye's band augmented by musicians such as bassist Larry Taylor...

CANDYE KANE - HOME COOKING

She's a little bit of Mae West with a straight-faced strength of Big Mamma Thorton and a voice like Patsy Cline. "Home Cookin'" has something for every palate. Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos, Dave Alvin, Kim Wilson, Thomas Yearsley and Dave Gonzales also add some spice to this recipe.

RED MEAT - WE NEVER CLOSE

"We Never Close is Red Meat's fourth, and finest, album...a knockout time start to finish." ­ No Depression

"Red Meat's contribution to the Americana universe is to stoke the legendary fires of that old Bakersfield sound, as once done by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Oakland honky tonkers Red Meat have absorbed a wide spectrum of their predecessors, and their country music ...

JILL OLSON - MY BEST YESTERDAY

Jill Olson was watching the 2002 Academy Awards with friends when, all of a sudden, she heard a very familiar song. Halle Berry had just won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in "Monster's Ball," and conductor John Williams struck up the band -- playing "Broken Up and Blue," a tune Jill wrote and recorded with her band Red Meat! "I was in a state of shock," Jill admits. Hearing her song -- which appears on "Monster's Ball" soundtrack -- on the Oscars was only the latest of a series of career highlights for Jill, ...

CARLOS GUITARLOS - STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART

THE LONESOME STRANGERS - THE LONESOME STRANGERS

SYD STRAW - SURPRISE

PHRANC - POSITIVELY PHRANC

BELINDA CARLISLE - LIVE YOUR LIFE BE FREE

CRYBABY - Movie Soundtrack

BORDER RADIO - Movie Soundtrack

UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD - Movie Soundtrack

THE FLESH EATERS - A MINUTE TO PRAY, A SECOND TO DIE

The Flesh Eaters formed in the late 1970s, the brainchild of Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter and postpunk poet Chris Desjardins, a.k.a. Chris D. Brooding and dark with often morbid lyrics, his unique vision and the group's raw, roots-based sound fused disparate American idioms including rock, rockabilly, garage punk, blues, jazz and more. Their 1981 tour de force A MINUTE TO PRAY, A SECOND TO DIE is a riveting sonic blast featuring Chris D. and a who's who of iconic L.A. players including ...

CHRIS D AND THE DIVINE HORSEMEN - TIME STANDS STILL

THE GUN CLUB - THE LAS VEGAS STORY

PHAST PHREDDIE - WEST HOLLYWOOD FREEZE OUT

Phast Phreddie & Thee Precisions was a little rock’n’roll combo that operated in Hollywood during the early eighties. It originally based it’s sound on the West Coast jump blues of the forties, but eventually evolved into a unique roots-based music with recognizable influences of swing, be-bop, R&B, soul, garage rock, psychedelia and free jazz. They liked to call what they did “Rockin’ R&B-Bop” in order to take it all in. The group opened nearly every show with the Earl Bostic arrangement of the Count Basie standard...

MARK INSLEY - TUCSON

MIDNIGHT TO SIX - TIGHTEN UP

THE FORBIDDEN PIGS - DRESSED TO SWILL

CHRIS BURROUGHS - LIBERTY

STANLEY WYCOFF - HAYMAKER

PETER FAHEY - ASTRAL SKYLINE

BIERCE IN LA - VALE OF TEARS

LITTLE BOB - RENDEZVOUS IN ANGEL CITY

JOHN WESLEY HARDING - HERE COMES THE GROOM

Originally released in 1990. Rereleased as a double cd with The Name Above the Title in 2003. This album was performed by John Wesley Harding and the Good Liars live at Eden Studios, Chiswick rom 24-30 July 1989. It then flew to Sunset Sound Factory, LA, where it was mixed from 7-17 August 1989.

JERRY GIDDENS - THE DEVIL'S FRONT DOOR

Plus unreleased recordings with Buffy Saint Marie, Bob Dylan, REM, Ruben Guevarra and other acts that are gathering dust in some vault somewhere or may have been erased. Our sincere apologies to any artists we've neglected to include on the list. We can't know everything.