This week's Dive Bar Music Club is a rabbit hole of garage rock side projects, forgotten lo-fi legends, Americana royalty, and gloriously oddball icons. The Regulars discuss everything from why some bands desperately need a new name to whether fans should let artists evolve, while swapping stories about tiny clubs, legendary live shows, and the strange magic of musicians who refuse to color inside the lines. Along the way, Swamp Dogg steals the conversation by being exactly as weird and wonderful as advertised, Tyler Childers sparks a thoughtful debate about artistic growth and rabid fanbases, and everyone accidentally proves that music nerds can spend ten minutes discussing an electronic duo's cassette track listing without a trace of irony, and somehow make it completely compelling.

Pin Our Tastemaker Playlists

• Apple Music
• Tidal

Musicians Featured in this Episode

• Kacey Musgraves
• Andrew Sa
• David Rawlings/David Rawlings Machine/Dave Rawlings
• Gillian Welch
• Jack Logan
• Old 97s/Murray Hammond/Rhett Miller
• Styrofoam Winos
• Weird Nightmare
• Swamp Dogg
• Tyler Childers/The Food Stamps

Festivals

• AmericanaFest
• Atlanta Film Festival

Musicians & Bands & References

• Barry and Levon (The State sketch characters)
• Chris Stapleton
• Cindy Lauper
• Daniel Johnston
• Derek Trucks
• Dylan LeBlanc
• Florrie
• Gabe Lee
• Gary U.S. Bonds
• Iron & Wine
• Jason Isbell/Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
• Jenny Lewis
• Jesse Welles (Tyler Childers band member)
• John Prine
• Jon Spencer/Blues Explosion
• Johnny Blue Skies
• Johnny Paycheck
• King Margo
• Kraftwerk
• Lavender Country
• Lindsey Buckingham
• Metz
• Miranda Lambert
• MJ Lenderman
• New Order
• Neko Case
• Patrick Haggerty
• Peter Buck
• Ratboys
• R.E.M.
• Rick Rubin
• Rilo Kiley
• Ryan Davis
• Scott Baxendale
• Slobberbone
• Starfucker
• Sturgill Simpson
• Susan Tedeschi/Tedeschi Trucks Band
• The Pollies
• The Replacements
• Vic Chesnutt
• W8ing4UFOs
• Wednesday
• Yaz/Yazoo/Alison Moyet

Record Labels

• Capricorn Records
• Medium Cool Records
• New West Records
• Sub Pop Records
• Twin/Tone Records

Venues

• Blue Plate Special (WDVX performance series)
• Boyd's Jig & Reel
• Coca-Cola Amphitheater (Birmingham)
• Fantasyland Records (Atlanta)
• Pinhook (Durham)
• Red Rocks Amphitheatre
• The Basement (Nashville)
• WDVX Radio

The Regulars

• Nelson Gullett
• Charles Hale
• Amanda Miles
• Sloane Spencer

Chapters

• 00:17 - Introducing the Guests
• 02:36 - Exploring New Sounds: Weird Nightmare and Beyond
• 07:59 - The Rise of Jack Logan
• 18:44 - Traveling and Music Experiences
• 21:50 - New Discoveries in Music and Memory
• 28:42 - The Evolution of Tyler's Sound
• 38:10 - Exploring New Sounds in Country Music
• 44:21 - Reflections on Swamp Dog's Legacy
• 46:36 - Exploring New and Established Artists
• 52:51 - The Transition to New Music Discussions

Recommended If You Like

Dive Bar Music Club, music podcast, indie rock podcast, Americana podcast, alt-country podcast, roots music, new music discovery, music recommendations, playlist podcast, Tyler Childers, Kacey Musgraves, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Swamp Dogg, Old 97's, Jack Logan, Weird Nightmare, Styrofoam Winos, Andrew Sa, John Spencer, John Spencer Blues Explosion, Jenny Lewis, Rilo Kiley, Jason Isbell, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, REM, Peter Buck, Peter Jesperson, The Replacements, Vic Chesnutt, Daniel Johnston, Iron & Wine, MJ Lenderman, Wednesday, Ratboys, Slobberbone, Sturgill Simpson, Johnny Blue Skies, Chris Stapleton, Lindsey Buckingham, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Patrick Haggerty, Lavender Country, Americana music, indie music, garage rock, power pop, lo-fi music, Southern rock, country music, record collecting, vinyl records, record stores, live music, concert reviews, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, AmericanaFest, WDVX, Sub Pop Records, New West Records, Twin/Tone Records, Medium Cool Records, dive bar music club, 90s alt rock, emerging songwriters, indie music podcast, music playlists, lo-fi music, garage rock, power pop, Weird Nightmare band, Jack Logan music, Americana music, country music, alternative country, record store culture, music discovery, passionate music discussions, underground music, music collaborations, concert experiences, music recommendations

Welcome to the Dive Bar Music Club podcast where the guest hosts drop in and out, but the opinions are always passionate and the playlists loud.

It's like cheers if everyone at the bar had a strong take on 90s alt rock or a suspicious number of burned CDs.

Around our table you'll find an emerging touring songwriter, a former cult band favorite whose work since then is even more interesting, a portrait photographer with a not so secret metal penchant, a record store owner who learned about Swifties the hard way, a retired folk singer who regrets nothing, and a zine maker with more cool music projects than we can count.

We're all just here to share what we're currently obsessed with and maybe convince someone that yes, that weird Icelandic synth folk band is worth a listen.

Okay, that last one's probably me, Sloan Spencer.

It's Dive Bar Music Club.

Low key, high taste happy hour for music nerds.

Hanging out today with Nelson Gullett and Charles Hale.

We have some of my favorite songs we've had in a while this morning that's saying something because our latest playlists I have actually been listening to on repeat.

So thanks so much for sliding on in.

Charles, how have you been?

I've been phenomenal.

It's springtime in Colorado, the sun is out and I ride my bike every day.

Oh, I'm jealous.

That's nice.

It's heat index above 105 here and we're sweating to death before 9am Yeehaw.

Well, I was also lying.

It's really hot here and really, I mean it's, it's really hot by our standards.

And many places, including the place I live, doesn't really have air conditioning, so we didn't need it here 20 years ago.

Yeah.

Hey, global warming.

So Nelson, how are things with y'?

All?

You know, we're, we're about the same.

You know, you and I just spoke not that long ago, so not a whole lot has changed.

We're still doing our daily live stuff here at wdvx.

I'm maybe hitting the beach here in the near future, so I might be getting into that triple digit heat in the next few days.

But for now I'm just trying to keep up with, with new music and keep things rolling here at the radio station.

As I said when we started today, I'm pretty excited about the tunes that we have for today.

And especially just getting to talk about these particular artists is going to be a fun one because a couple of them are kind of curious where y' all are coming from.

On it.

And I mean that like in a. Ooh, I'm intrigued about this sort of way.

So since Nelson and I just chatted Charles, what you been listening to?

So the first song I submitted is from a band called Weird Nightmare.

I was introduced to that band just a few weeks ago from another DJ at my radio station.

He walked into the studio to host his show after my show and got really excited when the Weird Nightmare album was on the shelf.

Then he.

He played it while I was still sitting there.

And it was one of these things where I looked at him and I was like, oh, yeah.

Well, this is really good.

Weird Nightmare.

This is their second album.

It's released on Sub Pop Records and it's the side project from the singer from a band called Metz M E T Z. I'm not super familiar with Mets.

I had never heard of Weird Nightmare before, but it's got the nice garage rock, power pop feel to it.

So I chose the song Pay no Mind, which I think is just ridiculously catchy.

Perfect description.

I love this record.

When you had mentioned it in passing at the end of our previous chat, and I went and checked him out and I was like this, this is one of those, like instant I like this band sort of things.

And it's funny to me, you know, when.

When musicians have side projects, it's always fascinating to me what it is they want to express.

A lot of times there's not a ton of difference between whatever their band is doing and whatever their side projects less solo project is in this case.

However, Mets could not be more different sonically than what they're doing with Weird Nightmare.

And Mets doesn't speak to me at all.

But I all about Weird Nightmare.

Yeah.

And.

And apparently the first Weird Nightmare album was very lo fi, you know, sort of bedroom recorded type thing, which is not always something that I gravitate towards, despite one of the artists that I also listed this time.

But.

So this second record just feels like it has enough polish without too much polish.

And I don't know, I don't care about Met, so I want more Weird.

Nightmare all about it.

So, Nelson, did you get a chance to listen to this one?

I did.

I. Charles actually did something this week that has not happened to me yet on this podcast.

All three of his songs, all three of his bands were completely new to me.

Really?

Yes.

Oh, I. I stumped a radio guy.

You stumped?

Yeah.

Well, you went outside my, my, my little worldview here.

Kind of like you guys.

I've heard of Mets.

I've not really delved into their catalog, but this.

I listened to it for the first time last night.

I think I was loading the dishwasher, had it on in the background.

And you've already said power pop, garage rock, all of that is there.

The first maybe four bars of.

Of the chorus just caught me as, oh, that's.

There's some jangle right there.

And it lasts for just a.

Just a minute.

There's a. Peter Buck's right hand just came out of nowhere.

And I turned the water off, turn the music up.

And I'm like, I'm going to lock into this.

So I'm.

Yeah, I'm definitely going to spend some more time with this band.

Totally agree.

And we are fortunate that Amanda Miles was just able to join us as well.

So hoping to loop her in, we are sitting here chatting about the weird nightmare tune that Charles has recommended, which is a side project from a band called Mets.

So we will loop you in in just a second.

Amand.

Thank you.

So, Charles, you were.

You were hinting about other lo Fi, and I'm gonna take a guess that it's one of my favorite, favorite, favorite artists on here as well.

Tell us more about what you've chosen this time around.

So I'm not surprised to hear that you're a Jack Logan fan.

Yes.

I recently read Peter Jesperson's book called Euphoric Recall.

Oh, okay.

And I've been a fan of Jack Logan for years, but reading this Peter Jesperson book just sort of.

He talked for a little while about Jack Logan, and that got me back listening to his stuff.

For people that don't know, Peter Jesperson was the longtime manager of the Replacements.

He started Twin Tone Records.

He also started Medium Cool Records.

He worked in a record store.

He went on to work for New West Records, among a bunch of other things.

And his book was just sort of a memoir of his life in music.

And.

And he's the.

I guess he's the guy that, quote, discovered Jack Logan.

The story being that because Peter Jesperson spent a lot of time in Georgia, had friends in Georgia who told him about this Jack Logan guy who recorded a lot of songs on a four track with other musicians.

Peter asked for some music from Jack.

Jack sent him, like several hundred songs recorded on cassette.

Peter went through and called from those cassettes to put out Jack's first album, which was a two CD set called Bulk that had something like 43 songs on it.

The song I chose, genius Boy, is not from that album.

It's from a few years later.

But I just think Genius Boy is such a fun, catchy song and Jack Logan is such an interesting artist that just had a tiny blip on mainstream music and then disappeared, but still making music.

So.

All right.

So yes, I am a longtime Jack Logan fan and I first got to know Jack Logan's work through his visual art because he made a three episode superhero comic book about Peter Buck back in the 80s.

I have it same.

And I have been obsessed with Jack Logan since I bought that at Fantasyland Records in Atlanta.

And since then, I mean, he, he's collaborated kind of one of those behind the scenes local guys that no one ever knew.

But he's so important.

Vic Chestnut collaborations.

Just incredible, incredible work.

I love his records and there is a large amount of it out there, but very underground and just an absolutely fascinating guy.

I was fortunate to interview him on my previous podcast many years ago.

Country Fried Rock.

I don't even know if that episode is still available or not.

But yeah, Jack Logan's one of those guys like you need to know his work.

It's really.

If one song doesn't capture, you listen to another hundred because they're.

They're just captivating.

Yeah.

He doesn't have a ton of stuff on vinyl, which means I often forget about it.

Right.

But a bunch of his stuff is on tv, so it's out there in the world.

He did perform on some late night talk show.

Maybe it was Craig Kilborn and did put out a record on Capricorn Records.

But other than that, it's been self released or fairly close to self release for most of his career.

Yeah, when you talk about, you know, the whole.

I think that really the first like lo fi artist I ever really knew about was Daniel Johnston.

We used to buy cassettes from him out of the back of his car in parking lots.

And so that was kind of my introduction to that world.

And then my knowledge of Jack Logan came soon after that.

Just really this particular type for me kind of continues through like some of Dany Barnes work and just the.

Not that any of their music is the same.

Just something about the approach, it really grabs me sometimes.

Yeah.

And Jack is the singer and writes the lyrics.

My understanding is he really doesn't play guitar and doesn't write any of the music.

All of his work is collaboration with other musicians and he, he puts the words to it all.

Yeah, there's a guitar maker, Scott Baxendale, who was in Athens for a while, who I think actually moved to Colorado at one Point who they had a collaborative release at.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's called Bones in the Desert.

Yeah.

And that one did make it onto vinyl.

And it, it's, it, yeah, it's, it's a good record.

I don't think it's one of Jack's best, but it's a good record.

But it's interesting.

Yeah, I would agree with that.

Yes.

Nelson, I don't know that you're into any lo fi sort of stuff like this.

You can say no.

Well, it depends on your definition of lo fi is, you know, is like early iron and wine lo fi.

Like, I. Oh yeah.

I need a, a certain level of fidelity when I listen to something.

So like, I appreciate even like historical recordings.

Like, I appreciate the songs and the music, but I can't listen to a whole lot of pops and cracks and, you know, I need a studio on some level, I think.

But, you know, I, I, I dug this song.

It's just not an artist I was familiar with.

Again, I, I read the bio and I saw Athens, so I figured you would have something to say when the conversation came up.

But yeah, all of, all of Charles's choices, I was, I was tuned into this time.

So to kind of take a different approach in our structure.

This time I'm going to just have each person finish their whole set of their songs.

So, Charles, you have another one where I love this song and I really, really don't like their name.

Yeah, the band name is called the Styrofoam Winos.

They're from Nashville and so I'm a little surprised that Nelson was not tuned into them.

I found them recently.

They're on the same record label that put out the records by Flory that I talked about several months ago.

That makes sense.

Yeah.

And apparently the Styrofoam Winos are sort of tapped into that world of Flurry and Wednesday and MJ Linderman.

But they're a three piece band.

One woman, two men.

And from watching some YouTube videos in their live set, they just rotate who is playing what instrument.

All three of them play the drums, all three play bass, all three play guitar, and all three sing lead vocals.

So I believe this is from their second full length album, so still a fairly young band.

This song is the first song on their latest record.

The song is called Pearls and it's just catchy.

And it's young southern kids playing in a rock band with real instruments.

And these days that's what I'm really into.

I really, I really like this one, I'm gonna try to actually catch them next month when they're within a few hours of me.

There is something about the vocal delivery in that refrain with Tennessee in it that I don't know what it is about that.

That I could listen to just that tiny little bit a hundred times.

Yeah.

I mean, that's us being radio people and being like.

Well, there's the catchy part.

Yeah.

So call out hook.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's so catchy.

It really is.

I don't know if the whole album gets an A from me all the way through, but I would chalk that up to.

It's a young band.

They're still figuring it out.

And Sloane, if you go see them play, There might be 50 people there.

There might be 12, you know, so they are.

I'm a big fan of either.

Yeah, they're very new, very green, and I think show a lot of interesting promise.

Yeah, I'm just looking through.

I'm just looking.

Looking through their recent shows played.

They were here in Knoxville earlier this year in a room that holds maybe 50 people, so it could be a good chance to go see them.

It looks like our.

Some of these folks have played with MJ Linderman and Ryan Davis.

Like, these are some bonafide players in this band, it seems like.

So what I like is, when I was reading about it, it looks like they are like backing band for hire, which is kind of what this duo, King Margo, that I like does.

They're Jason Edie's backing band and Gabe Lee's backing band.

And I like this concept.

The Pollys do that.

They are the backing band for Billy Allen.

They've done it for Dylan LeBlanc.

They've done it for a bunch of different artists.

Very cool.

Yeah, it just seems like a young, interesting Southern rock band.

Yeah.

The venue where they're playing, it's not terribly far.

Well, not terribly far.

About three and a half hours from me.

It's called the Pinhook in Durham.

It's one of my favorite places in Durham to go see a show.

And, yeah, it's probably.

I don't know what their capacity is, but I'm going to go with 50.

But the sound is really good and they always have great, great music and I just really like the vibe there.

So, yeah, hoping I have something else going on that day in another town, so hoping I can get to Durham to catch that show.

But Styrofoam Wino's not the greatest name ever.

No, I hope they change it.

I Mean, I hate that for them, that they're at their second album, but, yeah, someone should have said this isn't a good idea.

But at the same time, there's probably several of us on this podcast that are big fans of a band called Slobber Bone.

Right.

Which I think is the worst band name ever.

And there's another band from the south that they remind me of that I really like, that also has a terrible band name, which is Rat Boys.

I love this band.

Yes.

In fact, I'm hoping I can catch tickets there.

They go on sale.

They went on sale about 30 minutes ago for me, so I'm trying to catch tickets as soon as we get off our call today.

That's funny.

Yeah.

As long as your band doesn't have a word that I can't say on the radio.

There are several of those out there as well.

There are, in fact.

Probably.

Okay.

When I was in.

And we can say this because we're a podcast, when I was in AAA radio, we played a song from a band called Starfucker that was impossible to talk about.

Yeah.

The bastard Sons of Johnny Cash.

Right.

Technically you can, but.

But that whole local standards thing.

Yeah.

Anyway, Charles, I'm so glad you brought these to attention this week, because I was not familiar with the two newer bands, and then I will take any opportunity to go dive back into Jack Logan's catalog.

So love it, love it, love it.

And also, you've got your next.

What would it be called?

Next edition of your record club coming.

People can still sign up, though, right?

Yeah, they can.

And this morning, I actually committed to what the next release is going to be.

Sign up now.

Driver eight Records, y'.

All.

Yeah.

And I will tell y', all, because by the time.

By the time this podcast airs, we will have already announced.

I thought about the Styrofoam wos, but we didn't go with that.

John Spencer from the John Spencer Blues Explosion.

Yeah.

Has a. I guess a solo album.

He's got a band with him, though, that just released, and it's really good.

I. I have listened to the Blues Explosion in the past, but the guy who works for me at the store turned me on to this John Spencer record, and it was.

It was the best choice.

So I'm excited to bring it to people and see what they think.

But, yeah, John Spencer.

The album title is really long, and I can't remember it, but it's a good title.

Yeah.

So that.

That record club people can look that [email protected].

The album title I just looked it up is Songs of Personal Loss and Protest.

So.

All right, so that fits with my grief music theme that I didn't realize I had.

That's now on the fourth episode where something like that has come up.

Okay.

Any.

So Amanda Miles.

Man, we have not chatted in a while, and I've just been living vicariously through your travels.

What.

What have you been up to?

Oh, my gosh.

So definitely been getting some travel in, visited Colorado, and then recently drove out to Birmingham for a show.

So just been getting to do a little bit of traveling and enjoying music along the way.

So what's been memorable from the shows you got to go see?

Oh, gosh.

So for me, at Red Rocks, it was my second time traveling out there.

We went in the beginning of May to Colorado to see Gillian Welch and David Rawlings play with Jason isbell and the 400 unit.

And, of course, like, the setting is incredible.

You know, the venue is beautiful itself.

But to me, that was my first time seeing Gillian and David play.

And first of all, it's just.

It was just amazing to hear them in that venue.

But second of all, they're completely acoustic, and they have that entire amphitheater in the palm of their hands.

It just was so moving, and their voices are just, like, haunting together.

So that was what I walked away from.

That show really stuck with me.

And then I visited Birmingham, like I said, gosh, beginning of June, to see Tyler Childer's play.

And this is the first time I visited the Coca Cola Amphitheater.

So, y', all, this used to be a hospital where this now stands.

And I thought.

So I thought that was interesting, slash, a little bit sad.

But the one thing I will say for me, because I am disabled, and it is very hard, it's hard for me to navigate some of these venues.

Coca Cola Amphitheater had tons of ramps, so extremely easy for me to, like, get in and out.

So we'll say, like, number one, like, props to.

Props to Coca Cola Amphitheater for being accessible.

Yay.

And then second of all, this is my first time seeing Tyler, and I thought the show itself, like, the set to the design, all of, like, everything from the lights to the smoke, everything was so beautifully done.

But Tyler's voice was just so incredible live, it was even.

You know, I heard some folks say, like, tyler has perfect pitch.

And I was like, well, I saw him.

Seeing him in person, I was like, he is.

He.

Look, he's even better live than he is on an album.

And that's really Hard to say nowadays.

So for me, it was definitely like, the entire production, his backing band, the food Stamps, incredible like they are.

It's an incredible group, and I feel like the show really highlighted how well they play together.

It's just got an incredibly talented crew, so the show just blew me away in all aspects.

Very cool.

So let's back up a little and talk about Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch, because I absolutely love the tune you picked, but I haven't seen them live since Dave Rawlings Machine days.

Oh, wow.

It's been a long time for me.

So, yeah, they.

Like I said, this is my.

My first time seeing them.

And the song I chose was Empty Trainload of Sky, and it was one of the songs I walked away from.

From the show, like, just playing over and over and over, and there's just something so, like, intrinsic about it.

And so I had to go, like, do a little bit of digging.

I was like, I must know.

I must know what this song is about.

And interestingly, it is.

It was literally inspired by the train that travels through East Nashville because it travels over such a high bridge over water.

And that was, like, Dave's inspiration for the song, which.

Which makes sense because I visualize.

I visual.

I visualize a train traveling high over water or high through the mountains as I'm listening to it.

And also thinking, of course, like, empty train, load of sky also just makes me think about, like, as we talk about, like, grief and sadness and all.

I all.

You know, I love.

I love a sad song.

So this one also just makes me think about, like, if you're traveling through the sky, traveling through the darkness, and just kind of, like, traveling through, like, the dark times that we're going through right now.

It's really what it makes me think about.

Yeah.

What are you thinking, Charles?

Well, I think they're beautiful people.

And I saw them essentially live for the first time last year when I saw them before it was billed as David Rawlings Machine, but before he had put out a record.

Ah.

So I went to the show not knowing whether or not it was going to be that David Rawlings and.

And this was 16, 17 years ago in Mississippi.

And so it was that time.

It was only Dave singing.

So a year or so ago was the first time I got to see Gillian sing her songs.

And it was everything I hoped and dreamed.

Yeah, for me, at least the two of them together are.

It's more than doubled.

It's got the.

They really bring out something in each other that I personally don't get.

From either of them solo.

Honestly, I prefer when Gillion is at the forefront.

But that being said, it's one of those things where I'm just happy they're still making music.

Yeah, true.

How about you, Nelson?

Yeah, I will confirm that.

They're just beautiful people.

Like, lovely to talk with.

I got to interview the two of them together several years ago at Americana Fest.

I mean, Gil and Dave, they're royalty in Americana, you know, opposite of Charles's picks, Amanda's picks.

These are all artists that I've.

This is right in my wheelhouse.

Right.

This is Americana, top of the chart kind of folks.

And Gillian, David, whether they're separate or together, you know, kind of the same thing with Susan and Derek, the Tedeschi Trucks.

Like, either one of them on their own, I love it.

But you put them together and there's just something magical that happens.

Dave's guitar playing is.

He's at the top of that list as well.

My wife, the Fleetwood Mac fan, will tell you that he's the only guitarist she's seen live to rival Lindsey Buckingham.

I took her to a show here in town several years ago.

She went in not knowing a whole lot.

Just kind of went with me because I wanted to go and left just gushing about David and his guitar playing.

And, you know, they.

They make records so infrequently, it seems, by, you know, the standards of other artists and record cycles, that when something comes out, this woodland record that we're talking about, you know, it's such a big event in our world.

So it's good to see them around and just know that they're out there working on something.

And if you get the chance.

Absolutely.

Go see the show.

Yeah, definitely.

And so Amanda kind of laughing a little bit at myself because I should have seen more and I haven't.

But you got to see Tyler Childers at the new Coca Cola Amphitheater in Birmingham.

The last time I saw Tyler Childers live was in the old basement in Nashville.

Oh, wow.

Solo.

That was a long, long time ago.

He did a show for us at Boyd's Jiggin Reel, right before he broke, which is the venue I was talking about, that Styrofoam wino's played recently.

Yeah, maybe 50, maybe 100 people.

He agreed to the show, then he broke.

Then we put the tickets on sale and they were gone in five minutes.

And we have the recording of that somewhere.

But Tyler, he's 10 years younger than me, but he comes from the same place I come from.

Oh, so he.

He Graduated from my rival high school, and I think I forgot this.

Yeah.

Jesse Wells, who plays in the band.

Not.

Not that Jesse Wells.

The other Jesse Wells.

The other Jesse Wells.

We graduated high school together, so I've.

I've heard people from Tyler's band playing for decades.

Jesse actually played guitar for me in the seventh grade talent show one year,.

But I love it.

That's a story for a different podcast.

Of all the cool things that are true in your life that you can name drop musically, that's one of the top five, and that's saying something.

I have sang lead in a vocal group with Chris Stapleton, and Jesse Wells played guitar for me well before he was ever on a Tyler Childers album.

You win, Nelson.

Nelson, please post.

I need some photos on Instagram so we can all see and share.

Let's see.

So cool.

I've got to dig them up.

I've got some somewhere.

But, yeah, Jesse's dad was a.

Was a guitar player.

He ran the high school yearbook.

My mom ran the high school newspaper.

And we've just.

We've known each other pretty much all our lives.

I've never met Tyler, but I do feel a connection to.

To that band.

And the song, you brought one and Grindstone off this new Snipe Hunter record, I love the whole album, but it's like those two songs are from a different record.

Yes.

And that's.

That's the record I want to hear.

So I completely agree.

I think you.

You're tapping into something here, too, that there's a lot of, like, discussion about in the fan base, because so this album, Snipe under Snipe Hunter, Excuse me, was produced by Rick Rubin.

And so, sonically, you know, Tyler's definitely tapping into some different sounds, and it's very.

It's very funny to hear a lot of the fans, like, chatter about old Tyler versus, like, current Tyler and basically, like, even talking about, like, sober Tyler versus Tyler, who did a lot of drinking and drugging.

And I bring that up because there's just a lot of discourse online, unfortunately, where fans will say, oh, I miss.

I miss old Tyler.

I miss the old sound.

So it's very interesting to me.

But especially with this album, there was a lot of discourse about it because of it being produced by Rick Rubin.

So there are a couple songs in there.

Like, he opened the show with Eaton big time, which I thought was a really good example of, like, the.

I'm putting, like, new sound in quotations.

I do enjoy it.

And I will say this, y', all, like, Seeing Tyler sing some of his new songs live, I can tell he is enjoying them.

Like, he's definitely in big time by Enlist.

Like, he looks joyous when he sings those.

But I definitely will say, personally, Nelson, I do very much agree with you because I love.

I love.

I love this.

I love sad.

I love a deep, like, heartfelt, grimy, like tapping into, like your deepest self songs.

And Grindstone definitely is one of those.

And then Oneida, it's just.

Oh, like, it just feels like a classic.

Almost like a classic country love ballad.

Even though I say classic country, it is about, you know, a younger man falling in love with an older woman, which is.

And there's a nice Cindy Lauper reference.

Right there in the middle.

Yeah.

So I definitely love the storytelling in this song.

But yeah, there's just an interesting.

Because there is just a lot of discourse amongst Tyler's fans about this album and the new direction that he's been going with his music over the last, you know, even before this, like with Rustin in the Rain.

So I'm a big fan.

I love all of it.

But yes, like, this sound of, like, Oneida, the song today is my.

Is my favorite Tyler.

You know, it's weird.

I'm not a Tyler purist by any means.

And I'm sure there's something that I've almost said online several times and I keep unposting before I do it.

I will listen to Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven before I listen to Purgatory.

And my favorite song on Purgatory is the universal sound.

And I'm sure people will come after me for that.

But, you know, Tyler, wherever he's going, it's like you said, you can.

You can tell.

It's kind of like Sturgill in a way.

That's what they're interested in doing, and that's where the muse is taking them.

And if.

If they execute it at the level that they always do, then there's going to be something in there that I'm going to enjoy and listen to.

Creatively, I'm always, you know, I'll use R.E.M.

My favorite band, as an example.

I want bands to keep growing and I don't want them to make the same record every time.

And sometimes I'm not the audience for whatever the new sound is, and that's okay.

And that's what I find interesting about fan bases, particularly Die Hard fan bases like Tyler Childress or REM People passionately are attached to certain sounds.

Completely agree.

I think sometimes.

Sometimes fan bases get so Caught up in wanting an artist to stay the same.

And there's no they're.

And they give them no room for growth.

I think like when you brought up Sturgill and then his new, you know, the Persona of Johnny Blue Skies.

I think that's a great example because I was listening to his like, latest album last night and sonically, of course, it's so.

It's so different from some of his first albums.

But I really enjoy it.

I like to.

Even if it's not.

Even if the sound or the songs are not for me.

My favorite.

I do enjoy seeing where he's going and just experiencing the ride along the way.

Just dropped an extended edition, I think today, maybe with an Eddie Murphy cover.

I was like, what is happening here?

I love it.

Sexy disco surgery.

I like sexy disco surgical.

Not gonna lie, country disco is right up my alley.

And in fact, we'll come back to it because Nelson, you have a sexy country disco person to talk about when we get to you today.

So make sure we do.

Is that Mr. Rhett Miller?

Are we talking about.

Okay.

He would be on the list too, but no, when I. I don't want to give away your.

Your tunes, but it's okay.

Someone who is the feature of a documentary a couple years ago that's quite good.

Anyway, we'll come back to that.

So Amanda, you also have another tune that you brought this time that we've alluded to this album but we haven't actually talked directly about before.

Yes.

So the other song I brought today was Casey Musgraves and the song is Middle of Nowhere and it's actually the title song for her latest album.

And so Heather Casey's also a really good example of an artist whose like sound has changed along the way.

And I do enjoy.

I like it when her album leans more country.

I wasn't a fan of the work when it was more pop.

So I was happy when I listened to this album to hear that we were kind of like moving back toward a country sound.

Particularly this song I really enjoyed.

Once you get to the chorus that there's like that melody change and it felt like an old timey like two step in there but just enjoying like hearing.

Hearing the return to country with her and she.

Her voice is so soothing to me.

It's very melodious.

And I. I do enjoy like following her online too like recently.

So I've happened to see her on.

This is almost embarrassing to say, but the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders show she popped up on America's Sweethearts and was one of the judges.

Okay.

Yes.

Was one of the judges on there.

And I was like, oh, here we go.

So just definitely enjoying hearing this new sound, like, return to country.

And interestingly, too, it's been fun to see her, like, partner up with Miranda Lambert.

Seems like they have.

They very famously had a.

Definitely had some arguments about songwriter credits, you know, over the past decade.

And so it seems like they've buried the ax and have partnered up for some songs on this.

For a song on this album.

And that's been nice to hear, too.

You know, it's funny.

I happen to really like Casey Musgrave's voice.

I like her vocal delivery.

It's.

Even when she was not really doing the country thing, her voice is very identifiable and kind of for good or for bad, in contrast to what we were just saying about Tyler, it's always kind of the same, which is not.

And I don't mean that as a critique.

It just.

It is.

And I like her voice, but I felt like this song and this album, she was playing it a lot safer lyrically.

Yes.

So I will say, like, that part was a little bit interesting to me after Deeper well, because Deeper well felt like she was really putting herself out there and branching out and just really, like, being very transparent and vulnerable.

This.

This album, I will say, like, Dry Spell was the only song that I kind of like.

I felt like it was like what I would call classic Casey because it was kind of sexy and fun and a little bit risque.

But, yes, I do feel like this album is certainly lyrically safer than where we've been before.

Coming from a person who worked in pop country for 20 years, you know, no shame to any artist who's wanting to put out a more mainstream record.

I mean, get your green girl, whatever.

But I was hoping that she would continue to stay in the genre sonically, but push things lyrically, and instead, that's not the road she took.

But I can't.

You know, she didn't ask me how to make the record, so.

No, I completely agree, and I felt very much the same way, definitely.

But lyrically, when it comes to her music, I absolutely is a much bigger fan of Deeper well than I am of this album.

So we'll see.

We'll see where we go next.

But you're right, this one was very safe.

It'll be interesting to see how it plays out live over the next year, because depending on where she's playing, she brings out different sides of who she is in the banter.

So I Think that'll be.

I get it professionally why you would make a choice like this.

I just was hoping it would be a little edgier.

I mean, I'm beating a dead horse.

But, you know, I am hoping to.

See the show later this year, trying to get tickets to one of the shows in the area.

But we've seen Casey at, you know, stepping up from venue size to venue size.

We've seen the Christmas show, we've seen the.

The Disco High Horse era.

We've seen the early shows, like you said.

I am curious to see how the show develops from this.

Do we have the neon cactuses on stage?

Do we play it a little more straightforward?

Because I think it will be an arena setting this time around.

But yeah, I.

This record, it is a return.

I also, I enjoyed the.

The Sexy Disco Casey era as well, My Horse and, you know, Star Cross and all that.

But this is kind of where she lives, I think.

And when she.

When she does it well, she does it really well.

And this song, the title track, is one of those.

I hear you.

So let's segue with that because you're bringing the sexy disco country tunes this week.

Nelson, why not.

Dive in, Tell us what you got.

Well, you.

You kind of alluded to Swampdog, I think, earlier, so.

So let's start there as we're recording this.

Swampdog just released his latest album digitally on Friday.

Swamp Dog Contemplates the Afterlife.

It's another one of those long titles.

Swampdog is an artist, obviously, who's.

Who's been around for a long time.

I only discovered him probably in the last 10 years.

I stumbled upon his Sam Stone cover, the John prime tune, and really kind of was like, oh, what is.

Who is this?

What is this?

So when he has a new project now, I, I certainly am.

Am drawn to that.

He worked with Jenny Lewis on his previous record, Jenny Lewis from Rylo Kiley.

He kind of made a bluegrass record the last Time out and Jenny Lewis was on it.

And he said when he started working on this one, someone suggested that he cover one of Jenny's songs and he did the.

The title track to her Acid Tongue record, which has been one of my favorite Jenny songs.

And to hear Swamp Dog put his spin on it in the middle of this album that, you know, he also has Gary US Bonds on this record.

Like, it's.

It's a.

It's a strange mix, but it's.

That's what Swamp Dog is.

And Sloan, I feel like you probably.

I haven't seen the documentary, but you referenced that, so you might have even a deeper context for who he is and what his.

Oh, man.

Okay, so let me tell you how I found Swampdog.

So my dad had the Swampdog record where Swampdog is writing on the back of a rat.

So if you've never seen Swampdog's records, you need to see the album covers.

It's really important.

But he goes way, way back.

The first time I got to know who his music was was that Tales from the Tour Bus cartoon series from Mike Judge.

And the Johnny Paycheck episode features Swamp Dog.

And if y'.

All.

If you have never seen this episode, pull it up on YouTube or wherever it is the greatest piece of music sort of ish documentary ever made.

And I'm not.

No hyperbole for me.

It's incredible.

And he both played with and wrote songs in the country world in the 70s, and Swap Dog is now in his mid-80s, and he is an elderly black gentleman.

So imagine his life experience through the 70s with people like Johnny Paycheck.

Something else.

Absolutely.

Something else.

But I don't want to steal too many of the stories because they are incredible, and you need to see them without knowing the backstory.

It really gives better impact.

But also, there is a fantastic documentary, semi documentary that came out called Swamp Dog Gets His Pool Painted.

And I saw it during the Atlanta Film Festival a few years ago, and pull it up, rent it, whatever you need to do.

It is.

It's a slow burn, really well done documentary.

And then I'm watching it, and at the end of it, there's a party celebrating Swamp Dog's 80th birthday.

And I am personal friends with, like, six people at the party, and I forgot they know him in real life.

And I was just, like, in the middle of the movie theater going, oh, my God, that's so.

And so.

Both of them.

Both the Mike Judge Tales from the Tour Bus and the Swamp Dog Gets His Pool Painted, y'.

All.

Absolutely.

Like lifetime watching.

You must see.

Charles, what do you know about Swamp Dog?

I've been a fan for a long time, and I have a number of his records, including the album you referred to called Rat On.

And the thing is, the guy is really good.

He can really sing.

His bands are always really good.

It's the kind of.

At least his 70s output is the kind of 70s Southern soul that's just enough gritty for me.

Yep.

But also, he's just really weird.

Yeah.

And I have not seen the documentary.

Oh, you.

You need to see it.

You need to watch it.

Yeah, if I could.

If there was a way that I could watch it, I would have watched already.

But he's just so weird.

But he's also incredibly prolific.

In the 70s, he had a production company.

I don't think he ever had a record label, but a production company where he was signing artists.

He signed a lot of female singers where he wrote all the songs, played on all the records for them.

His real name is Jerry Williams, so he has tons of credit.

I will say, lyrically, especially in the 70s, there's some stuff to be a little suspect about.

It was 70s, yeah.

He was.

He was really good at writing songs for women to sing about how they were okay with their man cheating on them.

Yeah, like, there's a number of songs about that.

But I think he's an underappreciated musician that has a.

Has an unbelievable track record of great stuff.

So.

I did not know about this new album.

I didn't know about the Jenny Lewis connection.

I saw Acid Tongue and Hit Hit Play on the song and was like, is this the Jenny Lewis song?

Because it starts talking about.

The first line is something about going to a.

A cobble maker or something.

And it's like, is this something that Jenny Lewis would sing about?

And then I went and listened to the Jenny Lewis song and I was like, it is the same song.

And honestly, Jenny Lewis also a giant weirdo.

Yeah.

In the best way.

In the best way.

All of this is.

Yeah.

Oh, absolutely.

I think Swamp Dog would tell you he's a weirdo.

I mean, he essentially made a movie about a guy coming and painting his pool.

Yeah, that's.

That's weird.

I love it.

I love this so much.

Nelson and this record too.

You know, you can kind of get it from the title.

Swamp Dog contemplates the afterlife.

As Charles said.

This is a guy in his mid-80s who is kind of taking stock.

The final song on the record is called Final Approach.

And it's a metaphor of, you know, the plane is coming in to land, and as I taxi on the tarmac and he talks.

There's a spoken word part at the end where he talks about some of the friends he's made.

And I'm at a point in my life where the bill collectors aren't calling me at night anymore.

And it's just.

It.

It's weird in the best way, but it's also contemplative, as the title would suggest.

And just there's a deepness to it under the surface of the weirdness.

And I. I kind of like that dichotomy.

Yeah.

Yeah.

At least I know we put out one that had a couple of songs with John prime on it where they did the same kind of thing of we're old and we're.

No, Our time is just about up.

Yeah.

Please let me go around again.

Yeah, that song.

Yeah.

And.

But also, if Swamp Dog made a record in its.

In his 90s, I wouldn't be surprised.

Right.

I don't know if it would be good, but I would listen to it.

It would be interesting either way, for sure.

Something about this type of, as we say, weirdness really, really compels me in a positive way.

Like I. I just really like.

I just really, really like the weirdness of it.

And the COVID art for this album, he's like a.

He looks like an old monk and he's reading what looks like a Casper or little devil comic on the front with the.

The halo and the angels hovering around his head.

Just a kitschy, like all of it.

Yeah, it's so cool.

So we were jokingly calling this like the country disco theme here.

And you've got a couple of different ends of country crooning going on with your remaining two tunes.

I'll just.

I'll go through these pretty quickly because one is a well established artist who I think we maybe even discussed once before, and the other is a.

Is a newer artist.

But I think you're about to dig into a little deeper on another episode.

I'll start with the old 97s, because I'm about to go on vacation.

When I go on vacation, I produce my show in advance.

So for my radio show, I usually focus on brand new music.

I wait for the new releases on Friday and that's when I start building my playlist for Wednesday.

But when I'm on vacation, I can't wait for Friday.

I've got to get it all together.

So I usually go And I look 25 years in the past.

That's fun.

And kind of like we were talking about with Tyler, I think there used to be a lot of discussion in the alt country fandom of, you know, if you're a fan of Too Far to Care, can you be a fan of fight songs and satellite rides?

And I think, yes, you can.

You can love it all this is the.

The popular era of the old 97s.

But.

But this song that I picked, Designs on youn.

It's kind of an old timey phrase, but it's very much.

If your partner ever tells you that Rhett Miller looks at them and says, I have designs on you, you better be nervous, write them off and look for somebody else.

Because.

Because they're gone.

That's what this song is about.

It's.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't have designs on you.

It's endlessly catchy.

It is one of those sexy disco songs, maybe without the disco element, but it's just.

It's a fun tune.

And it was just in my head when I. I wrote out my songs for this week, so I wanted to bring up the old 97s.

I love the old 97s.

I came to them through their first.

The first.

Let me rephrase that.

The first tune that I became enamored with them from was Barrier Reef.

I catchy, funny, sing alongs.

Yeah.

And, you know, they.

They just got a lifetime achievement award from the Americana Music association last year.

They're still.

Still out there, still playing, Still.

Still burning it down.

I talked to Philip and Murray stayed in our hotel last year at Americana Fest.

Ran into them briefly in the.

In the lobby.

And they still love what they do.

Murray's got a solo record that I didn't even know about.

He's got a couple.

Yeah, Murray Hammond.

So just check him out.

He's the guy with the glasses in the band.

And then finally, I'll close with Andrew Saw, who by the time this comes out, his record American Rough, will be released.

He came to the Blue Plate special a few weeks ago.

And you said, I think country crooning.

That's exactly what I would describe the voice that this guy has on the recordings in a live setting, he played the Blue Plate special.

Just him and a guitar player.

There's a performance aspect to it, not just the vocals.

He moves and sways with the music.

Really niche reference here, but he kind of reminded me a little bit of Barry and Lavon from the state, swaying back and forth to their $240 worth of pudding.

But you have to watch MTV sketch comedies from the 90s to understand that reference.

But the.

The vocal delivery, and just this song in particular, Lavender Cowboy, is a tribute to Patrick Haggerty from the band Lavender country, who was an early queer country pioneer and who Andrew was friends with toward the end of Patrick's life.

And just talking to Andrew after the show, I kind of told him how much I enjoyed that song and how moving I found it.

And he said to me, you know, that he and Patrick would have conversations.

And he said, I have to imagine that Patrick had this conversation with many artists through the years, but something to the effect of Lavender country existed so all of you could come after and do what you're doing and do it openly and just be yourself in your music that, you know, in the 70s, when Patrick Haggerty was, was there probably wasn't happening.

So yeah, Andrew saw a tremendous voice, a really cool brand new artist.

This is his first full length record.

There's a covers album out there, an EP that he did a few years ago where he's covering like Nico Case and some other stuff that's also worth a listen.

But just a cool new artist that I wanted to highlight.

And I think you and Rachel are going to go back to this record here in the near future.

Yeah, yeah.

We have an undated episode that'll be out at some point with Rachel and I talking specifically about some queer country artists and celebrating Pride Month.

So it'll be out before the end of June, theoretically before this episode comes out.

I don't know.

Time is magic.

Yeah, time is fleeting, as they say in Rocky Horror.

I have personally have a love hate relationship with country music per se, but this kind of country vocals, specifically paired with the musicality of it is something that still speaks to me.

As much as I'm often like, I don't like country music.

This whole record is really beautiful and the timbre of his voice is really appealing.

So if you're a person who's like, eh, not into country, I would say just throw it on in the background and see how you feel.

This I actually first hear Andrew saw when you mentioned they were playing at the Blue Plate.

And then when Rachel and I ended up having a further conversation, paid a little more attention.

And yeah, I like bringing this sort of stuff in.

There's a, there's a purity to his sound and I'm not, I'm not saying that as a country purist or this is how this ought to sound, by golly, it's.

It's like, it's the timbre to his voice, it's just, it's so clean.

But it's not like produced clean.

It's just this is what he sounds like and in person it sounds just like it does.

We should have some crisper videos from his WDVX appearance here soon.

And when those come out, I'll share them on Blue sky and Instagram and whatnot.

And people can really see what he's capable of.

Yeah, definitely.

Charles, these are a little bit outside of your wheelhouse.

What are your thoughts?

I'm gonna change the subject.

Oh, please do.

I know we only have a couple more minutes.

And I listened to that Yaz song.

Oh, yeah.

And so I want you to tell me why I listened to that Yaz song.

Why?

Yes.

Why you.

Why you picked it?

So, yeah, it really.

There was.

You know, I'm impulse person.

There wasn't a ton of deep thought behind it.

I periodically get super obsessed with the entire album of Upstairs at Eric's.

And I literally was digging through my cassettes for no reason.

It was because I was alphabetizing my records differently, and I. I ran across my cassette, and then I went and found my record.

And I had forgotten they had different track lists in the Yazoo versus the Yaz version of it.

And it's only slightly different, but because I always listen all the way through, it sounds weird to me.

It's sort of like when you listen to Squeeze singles.

If you listen to the British version, the lyrics are different on one of the songs than on the American version.

And it really drives me crazy.

So I get obsessed about these, like, very tiny little things about music.

So for this particular record, I only like a specific sequencing.

And then I just listened to that record literally, like, on repeat for probably seven or eight days.

And I had never really thought about any of their songs in isolation before.

And I was like, if I were gonna pick a song in isolation, how would I explain this band to somebody?

And that was the song then.

That's how I got there.

How would you explain this band to someone?

Early electronica duo with some new wave stuff going on?

I don't know.

Yeah.

I'm not trying to give you a hard time.

No, really.

I don't know.

It was so out of my wheelhouse, really.

And.

Yeah, but see, I'm 48, and so if I was 52, then that record would have been part of, like, my popular consciousness when I was younger.

Yeah.

I'm also 48, so that's kind of the conversation we had about this.

Sloan is always.

I think I was four when this came out.

Right?

Yeah.

Okay.

So I don't know.

I have no concept of time as, you know.

So for me, musically, it sort of sticks with, like, when Kraftwerk had Tour de France in terms of, like, how electronic music was entering my head.

And so I also liked, like, the Depeche Mode, New order transition.

And I liked the fact that people really stuck their stakes in the sand as one versus the other.

But I was kind of fascinated with how this existed and like, what was making those sounds.

It sort of ties in with my interest in super weird, you know, like.

Like waiting for UFOs, bands who play atypical instruments and that sort of thing.

Except that this is the complete opposite electronic end of the spectrum.

I don't know.

I love, love, love this one record to a really weird degree.

And I'm not sure I can really explain why.

No, I think that's great.

I just didn't want my listening to that song be for nothing.

Watch season three of the Americans.

I learned how to turn on my television to.

To retrospect my last episode.

So, Amanda, I feel like we've left you out of this crazy end of the conversation.

Oh my gosh, that's totally okay, y'.

All.

I was sitting here laughing away.

Anyway, we're referencing the episode that just came out, I think episode 11 of Dive Bar Music Club.

I go into my weird obsessions that I get on about music and I'm, as I say, I'm a vibes person.

Half the time I listen to stuff and I'm not even paying attention to the lyrics at all.

So, you know, winging it at all times.

But I know that we are hit at time and I do appreciate all of yalls time, especially during a workday.

Nelson, Charles, Amanda, thank you all so much for being the regulars and being part of Dive Bar Music Club.

That's last call at Dive Bar Music Club.

If you like the hang, follow the show, leave a review and tell your algorithm.

Gosh darn it, we're worth it.

Better yet, share your favorite episode with a friend who actually stayed for the whole set.

See y' all next time for the low key, high taste happy hour for music nerds.