Friday, April 6, 2012

Wrinkle Neck Mules - Apprentice to Ghosts

The Wrinkle Neck Mules are back again, but this time with a little bit of help from a celebrity Gecko. (Down South we think that is just a fancy name for a Lizard, but I digress.) The song “Central Daylight Time” is straightforward Honky Tonk and apparently the folks at Geico liked it so much they made it the background music for a commercial filmed in a Country bar. The folks at Geico are even sponsoring the video which will of course, feature the little green celebrity. 2012 may be the end of the world after all, The Wrinkle Neck Mules have gone commercial.


Wait just a minute, this isn’t 60’s, some commercials actually feature good music these days. (Rhett Miller/Old 97s “Question” was in a commercial too). Simply put, it isn’t “selling out” to sell anymore. Apprentice to Ghosts encompasses the gamut of the Mules styles; Country, Bluegrass, Jam and more. Andy Stepanian’s gritty drawl is as distinctive as ever. What this album adds is solos worthy of a rock anthem. For example, the opening track “When the Wheels Touch Down” slowly builds to a mesmerizing finish. The Mules seem to get better with each outing, and hopefully the notoriety the little lizard offers will bring new fans into the corral.

The Video


The Commercial

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Mindy Smith New Album July 26th

It will be a self-titled release on Giant Leap/TVX records. She joins Giant leap after a string of releases on Vanguard records. She has assembled a band including Brian Sutton on guitar. I hope she will move back toward the raw emotion of her earlier releases. The first single, "Closer", seems very promising. It seems she feeling some freedom on this independent release.