American Aquarium Thread

[backroads]

I may just have to buy an American Aquarium album even if i never listen to it.

I would definitely listen to it! Good stuff IMHO.

[roland]

Gong to be an AA winter... Playing their annual Winston-Salem after Thanksgiving show at Ziggy's, then to Little Rock for the Holiday Hangout, and then their record release show in Raleigh on 1/30. Can't wait.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I get what Caleb is saying and mostly agree. BJ just pointed out something that gnawed at him and I think it was fine. Let it out and let it go. The difference with Bro-Country compared to other pop is that it represents a certain backwards thinking dynamic of mysogony and ignorance. In those songs women are marginalized and drinking beer is elevated to high art. The fact that Jason Aldean didn't know who Hank Williams was is just a cherry on the shit sundae.

I'm not defending bro country but weren't heavy drinking and mistreatment of women at the heart of a lot of old school country? In the case of the latter, I'm not saying they glamorized it in song but it was usually just beneath the surface and happening behind the scenes. While B.J. gave props to some noteworthy artists, I don't believe any amount of complaining is going to change the commercial country landscape though I'm sure it felt good to vent. As I've said before, I've never really turned to country music radio to hear the type of artists that interest me anyway. That was true even when Waylon and Willie were at the height of their popularity in the 70's and 80's. Even David Allan Coe was getting some airtime back. For a brief spell in the mid to late 80's it looked like there might be a significant breakthrough. Then, Garth, Randy Travis, Clint Black, Restless Heart, Sawyer Brown, etc. came around. Pretty much the only one to make it through was Dwight Yoakam. Other artists that seemed on the verge like Southern Pacific, Foster & Lloyd, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Steve Earle, Lyle Lovett, etc. were quickly forgotten. If memory serves, Steve Earle got blacklisted which pretty much assured he'd never be heard on commercial country music radio again.

As for American Aquarium, I've seen them in concert a couple times just to check them out but I've yet to hear anything that really tripped my trigger. When they were new they sounded overly derivative and like Whiskeytown once removed. The last time I saw them I picked up on the heavy Isbell influence which should be expected since they'd just worked together but didn't hear much in the way of originality.

[backroads]

Steve Earle got blacklisted which pretty much assured he'd never be heard on commercial country music radio again.

I think his blacklisting may have been due to his "extra-curricular" activities. I'm pretty sure he'd agree with that too.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Steve Earle got blacklisted which pretty much assured he'd never be heard on commercial country music radio again.

I think his blacklisting may have been due to his "extra-curricular" activities. I'm pretty sure he'd agree with that too.

Without doing any digging, I'd like to say so too but I'm thinking it had to do with a specific incident. Maybe when he was put into a choke hold by police in Texas.

[Iowan]

Steve Earle got blacklisted which pretty much assured he'd never be heard on commercial country music radio again.

I think his blacklisting may have been due to his "extra-curricular" activities. I'm pretty sure he'd agree with that too.

Without doing any digging, I'd like to say so too but I'm thinking it had to do with a specific incident. Maybe when he was put into a choke hold by police in Texas.

I think the well-known and constant heroin abuse would be more of the culprit than a specific incident.

[PeterJ]

I may just have to buy an American Aquarium album even if i never listen to it.

Noisetrade.com has burn.flicker.die. for free right now. It is the one Isbell produced if I'm not mistaken.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I think the well-known and constant heroin abuse would be more of the culprit than a specific incident.

I was working in country radio at the time and seem to recall his arrest leading to him being blacklisted. I'm sure the drug abuse didn't help either but his arrest appeared to be the straw that broke the camel's back. After that, we quit playing his music altogether. Not trying to be argumentative btw, that's just the events as I recall them.

[Vincent]

New album "Wolves" drops 2/3 and it's pretty damn solid.

For the homecoming heathens, I would highly recommend coming in a day early and catching their Georgia Theater show.

[hendooman]

New album "Wolves" drops 2/3 and it's pretty damn solid.

For the homecoming heathens, I would highly recommend coming in a day early and catching their Georgia Theater show.

Got he pre release this weekend. Have two dates in March within 20 miles of me. I have seen them about 6 times now, always put on a good show, and to boot they are good guys. Spent quite a bit of time hanging and drinking with them. BJ is like over 90 days sober, not that it has any bearing on anything, just throwing it out there.

[Howlinwolf]

Have tickets to the album release gig (2/3) at the Merc in Manhattan - looking forward to picking up the new record.

[Vincent]

One last plug for my friends from Raleigh. Georgia Theater tonight.

[Iowan]

Anyway to stream "Wolves"? I'd like to spin it before I buy.

[Vincent]

Anyway to stream "Wolves"? I'd like to spin it before I buy.

Vinyl is delayed, what's new? Share with good friends.

[PrettyLittleDish]

Anyway to stream "Wolves"? I'd like to spin it before I buy.

https://soundcloud.com/americanaquarium/sets/wolves

I imagine it will be on Spotify pretty soon as well. It's definitely different than their other albums, but it's definitely worth a listen and a purchase. The bass line in "Family Problems" is just dreamy and "Losing Side of 25" convinced me I did the right thing when I quit my 9-5 bank job.

Although I'm pretty biased given that I've been following them for 8 years...haha. BJ could sing the phone book and I'd still buy it in every format just to support them!

[PeterJ]

Anyway to stream "Wolves"? I'd like to spin it before I buy.

Vinyl is delayed, what's new? Share with good friends.

I think they are charging $9 to ship the vinyl if you buy from their website. Just ridiculous. Won't buy it from their store on principle alone. Hoping I can get it from my local guy when it finally hits shelves.

[drjayhow]

Love finding new stuff!! Just downloaded bible and bottle, Dances for the lonely and small town hymns. Thanks guys

drjay

[one belt loop]

One last plug for my friends from Raleigh. Georgia Theater tonight.

So I saw AA at the Holiday Hangout in December and really enjoyed the set. They were upbeat, making that crowded space (not even the actual stage!) work for them and really putting it down.

I decided to go to the Georgia Theater show on the strength of that (and the miraculous timing) but I really was disappointed. WAY too many slow songs to keep any sort of energy level going and the larger stage had them all spread out and disconnected. BJ way out in front of everyone meant that there was no band interplay at all. Just BJ and his backup band.

A little less navel-gazing and a little more rock would have made for a more interesting evening.

[Dean]

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/dc9/201 ... review.php

At a recent Florida Georgia Line show, the "band" wore, not the tee shirt of the band they went to see, but a tee shirt of their OWN band. As preposterous as this is, its topped by the fact that they sang their hit song twice.It's name is "Dirt"

[Kudzu Guillotine]

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/dc9/2014/10/jason_aldean_florida_georgia_line_gexa_energy_pavilion_review.php

At a recent Florida Georgia Line show, the "band" wore, not the tee shirt of the band they went to see, but a tee shirt of their OWN band. As preposterous as this is, its topped by the fact that they sang their hit song twice.It's name is "Dirt"

Raking the bro country folks across the coals is like shooting fish in a barrel. I understand the frustration but no amount of negative reviews are going to change the face of commercial country music. I've been paying attention since at least the early 70's when I became a fan of Waylon, Willie and the boys and the whole Cosmic Americana thing. Other than the Outlaw movement of the 70's, no form of counter culture country (for lack of a better term) has ever made a significant breakthrough (though the "Great Roots-Rock Credibility Scare of the Late 1980's" came close). Instead of focusing on the negative I've found it much more rewarding to seek out and champion the type of country music I like. At this point, hurling insults at the bro country crowd has become tantamount to beating a dead horse. It's just counter productive, at least that's how I see it. Maybe Sturgill getting signed to Atlantic will have some impact. Maybe the country music mainstream will continue to ignore alt.country (whatever that is). It'll be interesting to see what happens, if anything. It's 2015, I no longer have to rely on commercial radio to get my fix. I now have many other options from internet and satellite radio to streaming services like Pandora and Spotify to hear the type of country music I love. In other words, the only time I hear about bro country is when someone is bitching about it.

[Dean]

lighten up Francis, those guys are funny,in a completely irony impaired way

[Kudzu Guillotine]

lighten up Francis, those guys are funny,in a completely irony impaired way

Wasn't trying to get deep. They just don't figure into what I listen to country music-wise. Same for American Aquarium.

[Vincent]

One last plug for my friends from Raleigh. Georgia Theater tonight.

So I saw AA at the Holiday Hangout in December and really enjoyed the set. They were upbeat, making that crowded space (not even the actual stage!) work for them and really putting it down.

I decided to go to the Georgia Theater show on the strength of that (and the miraculous timing) but I really was disappointed. WAY too many slow songs to keep any sort of energy level going and the larger stage had them all spread out and disconnected. BJ way out in front of everyone meant that there was no band interplay at all. Just BJ and his backup band.

A little less navel-gazing and a little more rock would have made for a more interesting evening.

Agree with you 100%. I've seen them whenever they play the Northeast and have never been disappointed. The new album is a bit less rock and roll that I would have liked and they didn't play any of the them Wednesday night.

Let's call it a one-off and hope they picked up a few of us trucker fans regardless.

[hendooman]

Going to see AA tonight in KC at a venue called Knuckleheads, great venue, will try and get a set list for you all...

[hendooman]

Good show, great crowd, catching on more in the midwest every time they play here....new songs sounded great.

American Aquarium
Knuckleheads
3/5/15

Man I am supposed to be
Family problems
Southern sadness
Wolves
Casualties
St Marys
Lonely ain't easy
Nothing to lose
Hurricane
Katherine Belle
Spanish Pipedream, Prine
Rattlesnake
Betting man
Jacksonville
Losing side of 25
Abe Lincoln
Cape Fear
PBR Promenade
Hope he breaks you're heart
Burn flicker die

Water in the well (BJ solo)
Ain't going to the bar tonight
Who needs a song

[Vincent]

Band killed it in Philly last night. New live album out in November.

[WarHenRecords]

New live album out in November.

Nice to hear.
BJ's solo album is out in August too.

[roland]

Here's the art for the album...



And it's good to see that they're doing pretty well... BJ & his wife just had a killer back patio put in...

[hendooman]

Here's the art for the album...



And it's good to see that they're doing pretty well... BJ & his wife just had a killer back patio put in...

Ha it is funny you said that. BJ is a great follow on Instagram and twitter, becoming a regular old dudes that belts out some good jams.

[Smitty]

What's the association with Pharrel Williams?