The Opening Acts - Sirens CD Release Party

This post is devoted to the two incredible opening acts for Jason Isbell's Sirens of the Ditch CD release party on 7/7/07, Lauderdale and Sons of Roswell.

Here's a link to yesterday's post with the mini-review and pics of Jason and his unit.

Almost forgot the answer to trivia question "What does the Sirens of the Ditch CD release party and the band Styx have in common?"

Answer: Sirens CD release party was 7/7/07. Styx released their album Grand Illusion on 7/7/77.

Yup. Umm-hmm

Props to my sister for that one. She's a huge Styx fan and took me to my very first arena concert in 1983 for Styx's Kilroy was Here tour.

So, anyway, the openers for Sirens release show....

Lauderdale

Lauderdale was first up and they played an inspired set mostly from their new, self titled album, Lauderdale.

They closed with a new song about the Grant Hotel which was a whore house in the Shoals back in the day. As Niles stated from the stage... and I paraphrase... "If you decided to write a song about a local whore house, don't expect too many people to remember much about it when you're doing your research". This song will be on their next record and it a goodie.

You can purchase Lauderdale's very fine debut album here.

Word has it that their set on Saturday night might just have stirred some helpful interest. Go show some support by buying the record and leaving a note on their MySpace page.

Here's my previous post on Lauderdale and below is a snippet from that post:

From the early nineties rock inspired Wasted Life, to the partly Dave Matthewsesque 14 Seasons (one of my favs) to the remarkable up tempo ballad Breathless P.M. (also one of my favs) this ain't no garage sounding throw together. This is a solid rock album with well written songs and excellent musicality. Damn fine job, boys!

I got to hang out and chat with Niles, Patrick and Corey and they's damn fine people, y'all.

Check 'em out Rocking in full on jpeg:

Corey Hannah on bass and Patrick Mcdonald on drums



Niles Lee on lead guitar and vocals. He's also the songwriter of the group.

Sons of Roswell

You ever hear a band for the first time and on their opening riff your face gets all like Eddie Murphy's did when he saw a fine woman in either Delirious or Raw... can't remember which the bit is in.... face all scrunched up in the middle.... and you admit an audible GODDAMN! from your gapping maw......

That's Sons of Roswell. I freakin' love this band. They've taken the lead in my current 3 disc rotation.

You. Must. Buy. this album. Self titled.

I am not shitting you. If you love the Rock, this album needs to be in your possession. I promise you you will love it and want to have its baby. Check out their MySpace and leave a comment tellin' 'em Alabama Ass Whuppin sent ya... also, get on their mailing list here.

Also check out their e-press kit for a song that's not on their MySpace page.

Here's what people what are more knowledgeable and important than me have to say about these boys.

"Sons of Roswell rock with echoes of the past and bright originality. Great songs with memorable hooks. I love this band!"
-Jimmy Nutt, Studio Engineer (Drive-By Truckers, Jimmy Buffet, John Paul White and more)

"Sons of Roswell delivers a sound both comfortably classic, yet refreshingly distinct. Simply put...These Guys Rock!"
-Chad Green, ASCAP Nashville Membership Representative

"Sons of Roswell, a quartet that takes the Black Crowes' blues-rock formula and spikes it with hillbilly moonshine."
-www.macon.com

"The Sons of Roswell know how to make songs sound contemporary without delving into the 70’s rock pastiche that so many artists imitate. It’s pretty apparent that living in the shadows of Muscle Shoals recording legends didn’t intimidate the four members of The Sons, and perhaps some of that Southern magic rubbed off on the band while in the recording studio. With a fantastic debut album and some terrific, visceral tracks, it won’t take long for The Sons to get noticed by record executives."
-Andrei Bulawka, www.cdreviews.com

Got to introduce myself and chat for a moment with lead singer and guitarist Kevin Keenum. Again, damn fine peoples.

I really do love this record, y'all.

Sons of Roswell are:

Kevin Keenum - Guitar/vocals
Jay Burgess - Guitar
Chris James - Bass
J.D. McCorkle - Drums

Check 'em out in action

The ladies seem to love this band too....









Rock and Roll really is a religion, isn't it....

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