drive by truckers

Have fun shopping, Marty. :)

Jbc is right that the Bottlerockets are very worth a listen (I like "Brand New Year"). For my money, the best St. Louis Bands are no longer active: Uncle Tupelo, arguably among the most important American rock bands of the past 50 years (sort of the Velvet Underground of alt.country) and Nadine, whose "Downtown Saturday," is a classic of Americana. Both bands will likely appeal to fans of DBT type stuff.

Women working more and less in the genre worth checking out: the great Shannon McNally ("Geronimo," "Coldwater") and Sera Cahoone (selftitled, "Only as the Day is Long")

John

More titles to look for!

I'm a huge fan of The Bottlerockets and would add their debut CD to the recommended releases - IMHO it's right up there with Brooklyn Side. I'd also agree that Uncle Tupelo belongs at the top of the list of influential bands - explains why the whole alt. country genre was sometimes called No Depression music.

For those who can forgive the somewhat cliched central image, the Bottlerocket's track "Waiting On A Train", written IIRC, by Brian Henneman's brother, is a candidate for #1 saddest rock song ever.

Marty

If we can tolerate some geographical diversity, the Texas(I think) band called The Reivers (briefly known as Zeitgeist) also deserves mention among the pioneers of Alt. Country. I believe that they predated Uncle Tupelo, but I'm not certain about that. Their particular variation included more vocal harmony and - to the extent it received any notice at all - was sometimes called the "New Sincerity" movement. Any of their records is worth owning if this is the tree you want to bark up.

Marty

Thanks Marty! Just ordered The Reivers' last album (75 cents + sh on the Zon!). They were out of Austin. A little more alt and a little less country, perhaps, than some mentioned above, but very nice (speaking of the Velvet Underground, male lead sounds a lot like young Lou Reed).

John

we all know the greatest st louis rocker is chuck berry. great music suggestions , i will have a busy weekend til the football starts