Dennis’ Other Bonus Review: Chatham County Line: Sight & Sound (Yep Roc)

Raleigh, North Carolina-based Chatham County Line has been writing some of the best pure singer-songwriter material in the past decade. Billed by most as a bluegrass outfit, as is often the case with acoustic, drum-less outfits operating outside normal genre constrictions, it’s a description that badly misses the mark. This live set functions as a primo introduction to a band that’s far more in tune with Yonder Mountain String Band and Old Crow Medicine Show than any traditional grass band. Lead singer-prime songwriter-guitarist Dave Wilson has real presence, a voice clear and true belting out confident, unsentimental observations. The blend of singers and instruments in Chatham County Line is so damn nice, and they pull off what they do so well in the studio just as well in concert on Sight & Sound (released July 10), huddled around a single mic to deliver a cohesive, utterly solid case for their inclusion in any list of Americana’s top tier acts today. (DC)

From: Albums of the Week | July 23-July 29 | Dirty Impound

The Border Blasters on Uncle Walt’s Band

http://www.borderblasters.com/

So I somehow stumbled upon these guys today. I was prompted to check out their stuff because I read the transcripts of this Taproot Radio podcast and what they were saying about Uncle Walt’s Band…

You can read the entire transcript and listen to the podcast here: http://www.taprootradio.com/2011/11/28/tpr64-border-blasters-interview-and-music/

For now, here’s the excerpt that struck me:

“Todd Jagger: One of our personal big influences was a band around Austin in the ‘70s and ‘80s called Uncle Walt’s Band. Do you know those guys?

Calvin Powers: No, I don’t. Tell us about them.

Todd Jagger: Go find them. Two of them aren’t with us anymore. They both passed tragically. David Ball who’s kind of making the circuit in the country store now is the third member. Uncle Walt’s was an acoustic trio; two guitars and David Ball on the upright bass. Champ Hood playing guitar and Walter Hyatt playing the other guitar.

JR Harrell: I believe they were all up from your area. They were up from North Carolina, South Carolina area.

Todd Jagger: Yep, they were. They were from –

JR Harrell: – Greensboro.

Todd Jagger: Something like that.

JR Harrell: Greensboro, wasn’t it?

Todd Jagger: yeah, Greensboro, I believe it was.

Calvin Powers: Now I’m gonna be on a mission to look them up. Thanks for the pointer.

JR Harrell: They were incredible and such performers.

Todd Jagger: You are gonna love them. Getting back to the whole point of that was that they had a thing, of course this was all before pick ups on your acoustic guitar, anything like that so they worked with all mics. When the crowds got a little loud in the places, they would just turn their PA down a little bit. They really forced people to listen to them, which I thought was always very interesting and a neat way of doing it. You can do that in a bar if you’ve got the huevos to turn your PA down when the crowd gets hot, gets loud.

JR Harrell: Now everybody plugs in, of course. To play an acoustic music but they have to plug in, what’s wrong with that picture?”

The Border Blasters have a new album out, The Sun Session that I’ll get to listening to later tonight, but I think I’ve already listened to their 2008 album, Blast From the Past about 3 times today.

At once, you can hear that Uncle Walt’s influence and it’s absolutely gorgeous.

It’s available to stream and free to download so treat your ears right and give it a listen…