HICKOIDS - CORN DEMON"From Austin, the Hickoids were one of the premier cowpunk bands of their era. Now, the bulk of their discography has been reissued and it stands pretty tall in its boots. ... these guys were simultaneously goofier and harder-toned than SoCal contemporaries like Blood on the Saddle or Tex & the Horseheads. There’s a vicious, quivering edge to the guitars that mitigates even the most resolutely cornball of their moves, and they sound so damn drunk you can smell it. Still."Byron Coley-HARP Magazine
LOCO GRINGOS"Herein you get plenty of tasty, chunky riffs, chants, and songs mainly about comestibles all smeared with gobs of guitar-as-melted-cheese riding fully-rounded rock tunes. Anyone who likes stuff that wasn't on local "rock" radio but sure coulda been snuck onto a show playing the zone between Zeppelin and Fishbone would have a good time with Loco Gringos. Stir it up with a blown apart "Pretty Much Everything Got Broke" party ethic and great tunes like the first single and you really woulda enjoyed yourself. I hope every city had a couple units like this. In Columbus, Ohio, we had The Royal Crescent Mob and Pica Huss. Never heard of'm? Sure didn't have anything to do with quality. Now dig this and go dig up some of your own." Craig Regala-LOLLIPOP
ERIC HISAW - THE CROSSES"Muscular but senstive-sounds like a dream date, don't it, girls? Well, Hisaw is rather the Brad Pitt of Austin roots music, though that's not really a good analogy because those qualities come not from personal trainers or scripts but from the metaphorical equivalent of pushing broken-down cars, which is how Hisaw claims he got his physique. Anyone who looks less like the stereotypical songwriter would be hard to imagine- if he'd shown at Folk Alliance, people would probably have assumed he was there to do something useful, like move stacks of speakers, but Hisaw has the soul of a poet and the heart of a rock & roller. At another time, Hisaw, long based in Austin, could have been described as country-rock, with the emphasis on rock, but his combination of literacy and grit makes Americana a rather more useful label than usual. I've said this before, but it bears repeating because it's the source of Hisaw's strength, when it comes to writing about working class life, he's not your usual overprivileged middle class songwriter striving for downward mobility, he's the real thing, with the ragged edge of authenticity. Think of him as the anti-James Taylor" John Conquest -THIRD COAST MUSIC
THE TOMBSTONES - TWANG FROM THE GRAVE"Long before Stevie Tombstone arrived in Austin, his mid-Eighties psychobilly outfit the Tombstones tore through Atlanta like a tornado through Waffle House. Though the Tombstones' distinctively ghoulish bent assured they'd never attain the mass appeal of the Georgia Satellites, songs like "Jailhouse Tattoo" and "No Body" continue to pack resonance even in their state of advanced decomposition." Greg Beets-AUSTIN CHRONICLE
SNOWBYRD" Looking to feed your indie-rock jones? San Antonio’s SNOWBYRD may be just what you’re seeking. Hard-driving, chugging guitar rhythms, melodic songs with off-kilter Phish/Meat Puppets/Grateful Dead (pick your generation) harmonies, a flair for weird turns, and, of course, a proud lo-fi aesthetic are all combined on the band’s self-titled debut . And it’s a winning concoction. Despite losing its home base, S.A.’s famed rock hangout Tacoland, when owner Ram Ayala was murdered during a robbery last summer, the band shows no trace of disillusionment in its infectious music. Its members write their songs together, and several, like “St. Mary’s Night,” perfectly conjure a certain subset of Alamo City nightlife." Jeff McCord-TEXAS MONTHLY
STEVIE TOMBSTONE“Devils Game” is a new collection incorporating Georgia native Stevie Tombstone’s out of print “Second Hand Sin” and “Acoustica” CD’s alongside selected odds and sods. Tombstone first came to prominence as a solo artist via the 2003 release “7:30 A.M.” which received substantial airplay in the US, Europe and Australia.(and incidentally spent 3 weeks at #1 on XM Satellite Radio's "X-Country" Channel,and two months in the top ten) The spare, acoustic tracks of “Sin” (produced by Jeff Johnson of Jason & the Scorchers) highlight Stevie’s songwriting approach of melding country-blues and gospel with dark and world-weary lyrical themes. The tracks from “Acoustica” capture this same stripped down presentation in a rowdy live setting while the bonus tracks feature guest appearances from members of the Georgia Satellites and Soul Asylum. The set is rounded out by a stellar cover of “Folsom Prison Blues” and Tombstone’s new holiday classic “Christmas On Red River”.
“Where are the rest of you, I wonder, while we watch Stevie whip the **** out of the alt-country bunch with the best version of "Folsom Prison Blues" since Johnny Cash himself? Stevie is what Mike Ness would be if not for multi-thousand-dollar guarantees and 20 years of junkie mythology. He's legit, and you'll be hard-pressed to find legitimacy anywhere.” Chris Henderson-the Houston Press 8-16-07
T. TEX EDWARDS & OUT ON PAROLE“PARDON ME, I'VE GOT SOMEONE TO KILL” is a re-issue of the classic 1989 Sympathy For The Record Industry release (also New Rose in France, 1991) by T. Tex Edwards & Out On Parole, now available domestically in digital formats for the first time. T. Tex is a true Texas Punk pioneer dating from his work in the 70’s with the Nervebreakers and his later Hollywood outfit the Loafin’ Hyenas. “Pardon Me,...” is a collection of obscure C & W “murder” songs rendered in Edwards’ singular style. Top-notch backing on the disc is provided by Austin Roots luminaries Mike Buck (Fabulous T-Birds, Leroi Bros.) on the drums, John X. Reed (Doug Sahm, Jesse Taylor) on a variety of guitars along with lesser-known but equally talented weirdos Joe Dickens, Marty Muse, JJ Barrera and Howard Kalish. 14 tales about drinkin’, cheatin’, killin’ and prison rendered in high Texan fashion for your listening enjoment. Includes the previously unreleased “Last Will and Testimony (of a Drinking Man) by Tex and the Affordable Caskets.
THE SERVICE INDUSTRY "LIMITED COVERAGE" (SPOR2801) & "RANCH IS THE NEW FRENCH" (SPOR2800) The cat's just getting out of the bag on this fairly new Austin supergroup. We're proud to be launching our new imprint "Sauspop" with the release of their second album "Limited Coverage" and the re-issue of their wacky but overlooked debut "Ranch Is The New French"....visit http://myspace.com/sauspoprecords for a little taste of both!
