Email Author Roy Kasten

2008 Stories by Roy Kasten

• Holy Junkies: Michael Timmins and the Cowboy Junkies release a 20th anniversary edition of Trinity Sessions

  published March 19, 2008

  Most touchstone albums draw on some zeitgeist. Others create their own. Recorded in November 1987 and released twenty years ago, the Cowboy... More >>

• Colourmusic

  published March 19, 2008

  What to do with a hopelessly pretentious but inarguably catchy band like Colourmusic? Though the Stillwater, Oklahoma, natives claim a... More >>

• Delta Spirit

  published March 12, 2008

  Out of indie rock's trends, the stylized reemergence of the sounds one's parents and grandparents once owned is the most perplexing — and... More >>

• B-Sides is in a Party Dream, chillin' with José González

  published March 12, 2008

  Freeze up the shot luge: Gil Mantera's Party Dream is about to blitzkrieg St. Louis! Due to "conflicting schedules" (read: totally partying),... More >>

• Vic Chesnutt

  published March 5, 2008

  Although Vic Chesnutt has used a wheelchair since he was eighteen years old — a car wreck left the Georgia-born singer and... More >>

• The Fabulous Thunderbirds

  published March 5, 2008

  The Fabulous Thunderbirds circa 2008 may be a shadow of their former hit-making, ass-kicking, no-prisoner-taking selves, but they're not... More >>

• The legendary Mavis Staples looks ahead with a Turn Back

  published February 27, 2008

  Like her idols Mahalia Jackson and Nina Simone, Mavis Staples is a singer inextricably tied to the civil rights movement. It should have... More >>

• The Toasters

  published February 20, 2008

  Though the Toasters never had the hits or name recognition of its followers in the '90s ska scare, bands such as the Mighty Mighty... More >>

• Bettye LaVette's an old soul, through and through

  published February 20, 2008

  "Hopefully when I see you, I'll have this little Grammy thing," Bettye LaVette says, calling from a scratchy phone line two weeks ago. (She... More >>

• The Campbell Brothers

  published February 13, 2008

  In the late '90s, the blues label Arhoolie began its seminal Sacred Steel series, which introduced the heathen masses of jam kids and blues... More >>

• Richard Thompson

  published February 6, 2008

  Unless you're a Boeing shareholder or a John McCain strategist, you'll agree that the Iraq War hasn't been good for shit. Still, that five-year... More >>

• Nina Nastasia

  published February 6, 2008

  At times Nina Nastasia comes on like the female Nick Drake; at other times, she resembles an introverted Feist; but most often, the New... More >>

• Giant Bear

  published January 30, 2008

  Just when you think Americana might get sucked dry by anemic Nashville and Austin rejects and coffee-house politesse, the vast synthesizing... More >>

• Parachute Musical

  published January 30, 2008

  Parachute Musical could be from anywhere — anywhere, that is, but Nashville, the town the quartet calls home. With the delirious... More >>

• Lucy Kaplansky

  published January 23, 2008

  The therapeutic obsession inherent in the singer-songwriter genre is enough to send listeners straight to the crack pipe (if not the... More >>

• James McMurtry

  published January 16, 2008

  Six years ago, if you had asked James McMurtry about political songwriting, his reply would have sent you to the nearest hole — in... More >>

• Muppet Gone to Heaven

  published January 16, 2008

  Elmo has had a charmed life, even for a Muppet. He's been tickled by millions. He's testified in front of Congress. His best friend is a... More >>

• Marcia Ball

  published January 9, 2008

  Geography partly explains the power and appeal of blues belter and boogie-woogie piano banger Marcia Ball — but only partly.... More >>

• Fly Like an Eagle

  published January 9, 2008

  Fred J. Eaglesmith — farmer, gearhead, painter, songwriter, outlaw icon and businessman — has more hats than all the souvenir shops... More >>

• Black Diamond Heavies

  published January 2, 2008

  With the departure of guitarist, singer and songwriter Mark "Porkchop" Holder, the Black Diamond Heavies lost some musical heft. But... More >>