Steppin’ In It is one of Michigan’s best kept secrets. They are fantastic.
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Just one? Not sure how much some of these are regional or not.
Texas:
Austin Lounge Lizards, Brave Combo, The Octopus Project, The Judy’s
(any of these guys much known outside Texas? Brave Combo I think appeared a little bit in True Stories.) The Judy’s are long defunct, had a nice string of really fine songs filled with snarky adolescent humor, which makes sense because that’s about how old they were. Guyana Punch (“Freshen up, freshen up”), Vacation in Tehran (“Group rate for 50 or more”), how could you not love those? (Yes, those are songs about then-current events.)
Uncle Bonsai.
Manu Chao – It’s variable, but I like the whole album “Proxima Estacion: Esperanza”. My daughter calls it “the broken music”, so be warned.
The Beautiful South. “Don’t Marry Her, Fuck Me”, and “Song for Whoever”. Someone’s clearly heard of them, check out this awesome singalong:
Juluka’s from South Africa, and when they formed, it was a crime simply for them to appear on stage (mixed race). The white guy (Johnny Clegg) was described by a South African friend as “imagine Bruce Springsteen, only more authentic”. A friend working in the “independent” tribal homeland of Bophuthatswana sent us a bunch of their vinyl back in the early 80s. Best is probably Impi, Scatterlings of Africa, African Sky Blue, Woza Friday. Their later stuff doesn’t do so much for me.
The Dropkick Murphy’s are pretty well known around Boston, not so sure about the rest of the country. Kinda punk with bagpipes, but you could do so much worse that “The Worker’s Song” and “Kiss Me I’m Shitfaced.”
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Have you heard about these “Beatles?”
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Mike West and Myshkin. They’re in separate bands now, but did some really good stuff in the late 90’s early 2000s.
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Steppin’ In It — Michigan’s best kept secret.
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Also: Del Castillo is the best thing out of Texas this side of I-35 North.
Hey I just saw Del Castillo last weekend! They are great. Brave combo is awesome too – let’s nuclear polka!! I can think of a few others: Def MFs, Leroy Shakespeare and the Ship of Vibes, and the Butter Boys in Bondage. Also, Callous Taoboys and Disband get an honorable mention.
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Brave Combo and Austin Lounge Lizards are two of our family favorites. Must also chime in for Dan Hicks and his many bands (Hot Licks, Atomic Warriors, etc.).
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Camel.
Tommy
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Camel’s a good one (not to be confused with Frampton’s Camel) but I’m holding out for Hatfield and the North.
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The Connells and the Pressure Boys, both products of Chapel Hill in the 1980s. The Connells recorded some wonderful albums and still perform. Both acts have numerous videos on YouTube.
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Sons of the Pioneers and Riders in the Sky, both.
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Mofro
James McMurtry and the Heartless Bastards
Illinois Speed Press
Those are the first three that popped into my head.
Steppin’ In It is one of Michigan’s best kept secrets. They are fantastic.
Just one? Not sure how much some of these are regional or not.
Texas:
Austin Lounge Lizards, Brave Combo, The Octopus Project, The Judy’s
(any of these guys much known outside Texas? Brave Combo I think appeared a little bit in True Stories.) The Judy’s are long defunct, had a nice string of really fine songs filled with snarky adolescent humor, which makes sense because that’s about how old they were. Guyana Punch (“Freshen up, freshen up”), Vacation in Tehran (“Group rate for 50 or more”), how could you not love those? (Yes, those are songs about then-current events.)
Uncle Bonsai.
Manu Chao – It’s variable, but I like the whole album “Proxima Estacion: Esperanza”. My daughter calls it “the broken music”, so be warned.
The Beautiful South. “Don’t Marry Her, Fuck Me”, and “Song for Whoever”. Someone’s clearly heard of them, check out this awesome singalong:
Juluka’s from South Africa, and when they formed, it was a crime simply for them to appear on stage (mixed race). The white guy (Johnny Clegg) was described by a South African friend as “imagine Bruce Springsteen, only more authentic”. A friend working in the “independent” tribal homeland of Bophuthatswana sent us a bunch of their vinyl back in the early 80s. Best is probably Impi, Scatterlings of Africa, African Sky Blue, Woza Friday. Their later stuff doesn’t do so much for me.
The Dropkick Murphy’s are pretty well known around Boston, not so sure about the rest of the country. Kinda punk with bagpipes, but you could do so much worse that “The Worker’s Song” and “Kiss Me I’m Shitfaced.”
Have you heard about these “Beatles?”
Mike West and Myshkin. They’re in separate bands now, but did some really good stuff in the late 90’s early 2000s.
Steppin’ In It — Michigan’s best kept secret.
Also: Del Castillo is the best thing out of Texas this side of I-35 North.
Kill County andUUVVWWZ.
mississippi sheiks.
Hey I just saw Del Castillo last weekend! They are great. Brave combo is awesome too – let’s nuclear polka!! I can think of a few others: Def MFs, Leroy Shakespeare and the Ship of Vibes, and the Butter Boys in Bondage. Also, Callous Taoboys and Disband get an honorable mention.
Brave Combo and Austin Lounge Lizards are two of our family favorites. Must also chime in for Dan Hicks and his many bands (Hot Licks, Atomic Warriors, etc.).
Camel.
Tommy
Camel’s a good one (not to be confused with Frampton’s Camel) but I’m holding out for Hatfield and the North.
The Connells and the Pressure Boys, both products of Chapel Hill in the 1980s. The Connells recorded some wonderful albums and still perform. Both acts have numerous videos on YouTube.
Sons of the Pioneers and Riders in the Sky, both.
Mofro
James McMurtry and the Heartless Bastards
Illinois Speed Press
Those are the first three that popped into my head.