See them at George’s Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville on October 29.

By Blair Jackson
Editor

Photo By Blair Jackson: Grayson VanSickle's fingers fly across the banjo strings in a blur, but he knows exactly what he's doing.

Mountain Sprout lives up to its claim as a “hillbilly music machine,” churning out tunes that portray the backwoods adventures of illegal drugs, lots o’ beer, kissin’ cousins, and redneck hippies. With a banjo, a fiddle, an upright bass, a guitar, and four fine sets of facial hair, Mountain Sprout is everything an Ozark Mountain band should be.

After listening to their recordings, I had the overwhelming impulse to see the band live. Whether urged by subliminal messaging or good music, I braved the winding highways, fought motion sickness and paid five bucks for three hours of parking to see Mountain Sprout in all their bearded glory.

“Welcome to our hangover,” frontman Grayson Van Sickle quipped through the mike, holding a beer and cigarette in either hand while his banjo rested in his lap. Around him, the rest of the band was busy, plugging in wires and tuning their strings. The stage of the New Delhi Cafe is made of stone slabs like those found in cabin fireplaces, and church pews with red cushions fill half the room. Behind the pews, the room opens up to the street, allowing passersby and those sitting at the sidewalk tables to watch the show.

As soon as everything is ready, one of the band members says over the mic, “OK, that was exhausting. Let’s take a short break.”

Photo by Blair Jackson: Daniel Redmond lays down the rhythm on his upright bass.

Though it’s not necessarily a part of the music, the foot stomp technique is an essential part of Mountain Sprout’s live experience. On stage, VanSickle stomps his heavy work boot and fiddler Blayne Thiebaud stomps-shuffles in his flip-flops. Sitting in the front row pew, I tap my knee-high boots, and it seems like the entire audience is keeping time.

In between songs, the band members joke with each other and the audience. “I think I overdressed for the occasion,” says VanSickle, who is wearing khaki work pants with holes at the knees, a look that displays the long underwear underneath. “Thermal underwear? C’mon, really?” he laughs. Mountain Sprout is anything but timid when it comes to self-deprecating humor, and bolstered by a good-natured humility — developed through years of playing on the streets, sleeping on couches and smoking behind trash bins — even the most vulgar of songs has a copacetic ring to it.

Photo by Blair Jackson: When Blayne Thiebauld gets going on the fiddle, the crowd can't help but get down.

Most of their songs poke fun at the lives of rural Southerners and habits that most church-goin’ folk would frown upon. No topic is taboo for the band, which features songs about camel toes and incest as well as cocaine and meth. On the other end of the spectrum, “Into the Sun” is a semi-serious song that covers social topics like pollution, greed and corruption. Most tracks, however, are about drinking beer and smoking pot and just having a time that is good, though debatably innocent.

The stories behind Mountain Sprout’s music are Arkansan through-and-through, but none of the band is originally from the Natural State. VanSickle and Thiebaud relocated from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Redmond is from Tulsa, and Adam Waggs (guitar) grew up in Illinois. “We’ve always been Arkansan at heart,” says VanSickle who says he appreciates the slow pace of Eureka Springs.

The band’s newest album, “Refried: The Best of the Beans” is a compilation of the most well-received songs from the three previous albums, re-recorded to include Redmond, who replaced Melissa Carper on the upright, and to explore a new production concept. VanSickle says the goal was to record in a laid-back environment — somewhere between a studio and a bar. To accomplish this “front-porch feel,” the band partnered with David Singleton, and used a mobile studio to record the album from a cabin buried deep in the Ozarks. The CD release party is being held at George’s this Saturday.

Like any good string band, the melodies will get your feet tapping and your hands clapping; and the simple, witty lyrics make a good time even better.

Photo by Blair Jackson: Adam Wagg the young, goodlookin' heart throb of the group tunes his guitar before the show.

Of course, I couldn’t leave without asking about beard maintenance. VanSickle, who has the longest beard, said it has been two weeks since he’s trimmed, and though I’m skeptical about how truthful this statement was, it may cover mustache maintenance. For Blayne, it’s been a year. Redmond says he trims his beard quite often. Waggs on guitar, says he hasn’t cut his beard in “four or five years.”

With “Refried” complete, the good ol’ boys of Mountain Sprout are gearing up for a November tour with Splitlip Rayfield and the Legendary Shack Shakers. In addition to their annual 200 shows, the band is beginning work on a fresh album, which is projected for release in March 2012.

By Brian Washburn

It might just be me, but I truly feel like this summer is flying by faster than Paul Walker’s acting career. The heat is dehydrating us, the sun is shining brightly on our faces and there is still plenty of music and shows to be seen throughout Northwest Arkansas for the rest of the 2010 summer.

The biggest name to be hitting Fayetteville in July has to be Kris Allen, the Conway native who swooped in and took the “American Idol” competition. The pop-rock singer, who will stop at George’s Majestic Lounge on Monday, has already hit it big on pop radio with the song “Live Like We’re Dying.” Although his sound is pretty generic with the male pop-rock, singer-songwriter genre still streaming through pop radio, this show will sell out and will make for an upbeat and joyful hometown show for an Arkansas musician who has made it really big.

Kris Allen is not the only big name to play the Ozarks this summer. On Friday, the Motor City Madman himself, Ted Nugent, will bring hellfire and ass-kicking to the Arkansas Music Pavilion. Terrible Ted might not have had a plethora of classic hits in his hey-day (aside from the mega-smash “Cat Scratch Fever”), but his personality and show alone will be worth the admission.

Other artists stopping through Fayetteville in July include cover-band specialists Lez Zeppelin on July 10 at George’s — can you guess which band they cover? — hard rockers Saving Abel on July 27 at George’s and many others who have found their way an hour and a half up the road to the Downstream Casino near Joplin, Mo.

While national artists playing Fayetteville is a special occurrence, having your hometown golden boy release a new album is even better. Hometown rocker Benjamin Del Shreve will hold a CD release party July 17 at George’s. Shreve has been an enormous staple of the local music scene for several years now, but it has been a bit since he released a brand new album. Though Shreve has already made quite the name for himself in the NWA music scene, time will tell if this latest effort will finally be the one to put him on the national map and on rock radio’s radar.

It might be hot, you might be sweaty and dehydrated and you might be miserable but wouldn’t it be much better to be hot, sweaty and dehydrated while enjoying the rest of summer in front of a stage watching great music and being in an environment where there’s no one who’s clean, dry or cool? It takes real music fans to enter these concerts in the heat, but Fayetteville has those music fans.

Final thought: Though there is much more music to be enjoyed and discussed in the upcoming final weeks of summer, unfortunately I will be going on hiatus until the middle of August. So just remember Northwest Arkansas, keep your ears open, your fists pumping and your head banging, and the rest will take care of itself.

Brian Washburn is doing an internship in Washington, D.C. His column will return in August.

The Gaslight Anthem is not Bruce Springsteen. The four-piece rock band might come from the same place (New Jersey), have the same upbringing (blue collar) and play the same style of music (straight up rock ’n’ roll) and the way they’re moving up the “ladder,” they might just get up to that Springsteen level. Their third album, “American Slang,” may do it for them.

On the band’s previous album, the breakthrough success “The ’59 Sound,” vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Brian Fallon toned down the band’s punk inspiration and took their rock sound to a new level. Luckily for fans of “The ’59 Sound,” the new release does not switch the formula one bit but just makes minor adjustments to make for a more mature differentiation from previous material.

“American Slang” tunes up the band’s R&B and Motown influence, which they fuse into their soft rock guitars and jamming rhythm section. However, this does not mean the band slows down the tempo on the majority of the album. In fact, a number of “American Slang’s” high points come from the uptempo rockers the band has become known for, such as “American Slang,” “Boxer” and “The Spirit of Jazz.”

But just because the band didn’t change their musical formula much from their previous release doesn’t mean they didn’t attempt any risks. Songs such as “The Diamond Church Street Choir” and “The Queen of Lower Chelsea” showcase the band’s mix of classic rock ’n’ roll with a bit of rhythm and blues. It’s a shame the songs don’t get through to the listeners as well as the band’s other material on the album. In that case, the small risks were not worth the reward the band might see.

TGA might be described as rock, alternative or even a bit garage, but one word really fits perfectly: American. The band’s quintessential sound comes from the roots of classic American music and does not apologize.

The trials featured throughout the album with the classic sound fit for modern ears makes listeners realize the country they live in and how working tirelessly in a factory and artistry are just one step away from one another, as seen with Fallon’s words.

He has a way with words rarely seen in today’s modern music world. From childhood loves to the healing power of music to lost youth, Fallon doesn’t disappoint with his topics or in the way he expresses them with blue collar/Jersey jargon Springsteen would be proud of — “they cut me to ribbons and taught me to drive/I got your name tattooed inside of my arm/ I called for my father but my father had died/ while you told me fortunes in American slang.”

TGA might not be reinventing the wheel with American Slang, but they are certainly moving it forward, especially when you consider the lackluster and God-awful music coming out of the radio these days. Bruce Springsteen, they are not … yet. However, nobody who gives “American Slang” a try can deny that the release and the band’s future are heading in the direction of being Springsteen-esque.

Straight-forward rock ’n’ roll with heartfelt vocals and lyrics that grab listeners by the soul, it’s easy to imagine The Gaslight Anthem might just save rock radio. All we have to do is sit back and listen.

Brian Washburn is the founder of DBW and is currently working on a way to revolutionize the music industry.

By Brian Washburn

PHOTO BY MARCUS DIETZEN

Generally speaking, the sequel hardly ever lives up to the original. Sure, there are the few exceptions — “The Godfather II,” “The Dark Knight” — but usually they are duds. For further reference, see every “Scary Movie” after the first and/or any of Axl Rose’s rejuvenations. But the sequel to last year’s first Wakarusa Music Festival held at Mulberry Mountain was not a sophomore slump. In fact, it not only lived up to the hype of Mulberry’s first Wakarusa gig, it surpassed it.

Those attending last year’s festival thought there would be no way to top last year’s inaugural romp. This year the weather reached more than 90 degrees every day. Camp spots were placed so closely together it was almost impossible to set up some bigger-than-usual tents (plus, it was a pain to make pathways through the tents to find a road to take you to the different stages). And let’s not get into the excessive, ridiculous trek past the main stage entrance to the will-call ticket line where you had to wait for almost two hours late Wednesday night and Thursday morning. But even with those few blunders witnessed and experienced at Waka 2010, the benefits greatly outweighed the costs and Wakarusa might have begun to settle in to its true identity of one of the nation’s superior music festivals.

Once you’ve attended your first Wakarusa, you’ll understand the transformation everyone goes through while there. It is not just a mountain in the Ozarks, or a music festival boasting more than 20,000 people in attendance.

No, Wakarusa is a whole different world apart from the “normal” civilization the majority of us currently reside in. To put it bluntly, the world of Waka is more like a commune filled with campers who confide in each other, complain about the heat, trade/buy substances or just discuss the day’s shows and see if everyone is having a good time.

Unique, one-of-a-kind costumes, an abundance of glow sticks, art showcases, unshowered bodies, out-of-control raves and a plethora of other situataions many will have to see to believe, all give Wakarusa this identity it has grown into over the past couple of years. And with the bands and artists the festival plans on bringing in, Wakarusa does not appear to be switching its image any time soon. Although most were gathered in the packed field to see the main stage headliners throughout the four-day festival, there was always a smaller band on another stage in a tent that seems to steal the show (See: Pretty Lights, Waka 2009).

This year was not any different and it came in the package of San Francisco DJ Bassnectar who managed to make every person in the tent end up dancing and bumping during his more than an hour set Friday night. His hard-hitting, hip-hop/techno beats had everybody on their feet and their hands in the air moving in synch with the music. Bassnectar epitomized half of what the Wakarusa music festival is supposed to be about: an enormous group of music lovers moving in sync with one another at a late night set having the time of their lives — whether that time is because of enjoyment or other substances. The other half of what makes Wakarusa, Wakarusa was found on the main stage each of the three festival nights with bands such as Widespread Panic, The Disco Biscuits and STS9. The mood of these extensive sets focused in on a more mellow and, at times, trippy experience for those crowded around the main stage.

Even though most enjoyed the three-hour set by Widespread (the festival headliner that did not disappoint) and the Disco Biscuits (the festival’s surprise enjoyment of the entire weekend), STS9 did not live up to the usual hype. STS9 performed a slow tempo concert with a light show that could have either been straight out of a Jimmy Buffett concert or a jazz festival. I couldn’t decide which. Even though STS9 are a huge crowd pleaser, their performances are more enjoyable in a close, intimate setting, such as George’s. The heat might have prevented Waka-goers from watching many of the bands slated to perform during the scorching heat, but up-start rockers The Black Keys put on a hell of a rock show during the heat of the day Saturday. The band brought their rock energy and grungy attitude, and lit a fire under fans despite the weather. Wakarusa’s mission statement most likely would have something to do with creativity and originality. However, many artists chose to perform covers and some should have stayed with their original form.

Steel guitarist extraordinaire Robert Randolph along with his Family Band covered “Papa was a Rolling Stone” (with an intermission in the middle to do an instrumental version of Gaga’s “Poker Face”) during their lively and fantastic set.

Umphreys McGee performed a basic cover of Pink Floyd’s “Time” and Blues Traveller attempted Radiohead’s “Creep,” which might go down as one of the worst cover attempts ever. It was sloppy and not worth the audience’s time. Wakarusa might just be about the music to some, but it is much, much more than that. It is a completely different world where, if you have a year’s experience under your belt, you understand the comings and goings of the four-day camping experience. You understand the people, the dealings and, for four days, live in a universe where the music rules, people are helping people and nothing on the outside matters. Wakarusa 2011: Bring it on.

Brian Washburn is the founder of DBW and is currently working on a way to revolutionize the music industry.

By Brian Washburn

Summer has arrived. The sun is beating upon the backs of those who are making it out into the 90-degree weather, making them sweat and feel uncomfortable in whatever task they choose to take on. For others, their skin is basking in the glowing sun while they sit by the pool for hours and sip on drinks. Even though summer is generally filled with enormous summer tours and gigantic festivals to go hand-in-hand with the blistering weather, summer 2010 also features a few album releases poised to shift the music industry and take over for the rest of the year.

Lil’ Wayne has been incarcerated, and T.I. isn’t slated for his comeback album until the very end of summer or first of fall. Kanye West is still locked up with his ego creating what might be hip-hop’s next revolutionary album (not being sarcastic either).

It seems the passing of the tour is officially going to happen June 15 when Drake releases his much anticipated debut album, “Thank Me Later.” Ever since he hit it big last summer with his surprise single “Best I Ever Had,” the young rapper, who signed to Lil’ Wayne’s Young Money label (and was also a cast member on the teenage, Canadian melodrama “Degrassi,” no sarcasm either), has released singles that have been more explicit raps showcasing his talents. And with his mentor behind bars, it seems Drake is about to be the recipient of the hip-hop empire … for now anyway.

Other hip-hop and rap albums hotly anticipated this summer include Eminem, Rick Ross, Plies and, of course, the king arrives back on the scene in late August when T.I. releases “King Uncaged.”

While it seems hip-hop and pop are ruling the mainstream radio waves, alternative music junkies are looking at the second coming of a certain Jersey icon — yes, the one who’s born to run. New Jersey quartet The Gaslight Anthem will releases a follow-up album to their breakthrough 2008 CD “The ’59 Sound” on June 15. Their new album, “American Slang,” will take their Springsteinesque rock/blues/garage rock sound to the mainstream this time around. With this new set of songs, The Gaslight Anthem seem to be a force to reckon with in the alternative music scene.

Other alternative/rock albums being released this summer include the return of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Against Me! and Arcade Fire.

Though summer is usually reserved for festivals and big-time arena shows, new music might just be the medicine to get those summer haters through the heat, and the party noise for those lying by the pool basking in the sun for three months. Either way, the music will not disappoint.

Final thought: Though the summer music festivals usually have outstanding lineups but this year seem to provide a few of the same names with mixed results. While Bonnarroo has the best lineup of the big-time festivals, Lollapalooza’s showcase this years seems to disappoint, especially with the headliners being Green Day and Lady Gaga. Let’s hope it steps up next summer.

Brian Washburn is the founder of DBW and is currently working on a way to revolutionize the music industry.

By Brian Washburn

An enormous part of the national metal community passed away a couple weeks ago. While many don’t know about the contributions that Ronnie James Dio made to the evolution of modern heavy metal, there are those out there who are mourning the passing of a metal legend.

Those who knew of Dio understood the impact and ripple effect this pint-sized man had on an entire music genre.

Though most know Dio as the frontman who replaced Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath (it’s pretty bad when you party so hard a metal band kicks you out, but that’s Ozzy). However, even more than the latter works of Black Sabbath, Dio brought us some influential music with his band Rainbows, his solo band Dio — which also gave the world one of the top 10 greatest metal tracks ever in “Holy Diver” — and his latest project Heaven and Hell.

What Dio not only gave to the metal world but the entire music universe is a signal, a sign and a cultural revolution. Most music fanatics probably don’t realize the universal sign that was his brainchild was something he borrowed from his grandmother.

Ever been at a rock or metal concert and felt the urge when the band took a break in between songs to lift your hand in the air and put down your ring and middle finger in order to make the synonymous devil horns? I’m sure a majority of the music population has at least gotten this urge at a rock show, and this urge was made possible by Ronnie James Dio.

Though some believe it was popularized by KISS frontman Gene Simmons, Dio began putting his horns up in the air as a tribute to his grandmother who used to make the gesture to hold off the evil eye and other evil superstitions.

Dio’s music might not have been the most influential, popular or revolutionary, but he will forever have an impact on the history of metal and the formation of the modern metal scene.

The devil horns are as synonymous with the metal genre as fist pumps and crowd surfing is with rock, synchronizing hands are with hip-hop, line dancing and two-stepping are with country and dancing is with electronic, jam or rave music. Without Dio in the history book of metal putting the devil horns on the map, this somewhat underground, but popular genre might not have had a symbol that classified listeners and artists for generations.

Final thought: It is extremely disheartening to hear about the passing of Dio, however, his untimely death from stomach cancer has brought several questions to my mind. Although musicians are subject to health issues and death like the rest of us (except for, of course, Keith Richards) whose death will be bigger when it happens — Ozzy Osbourne, Angus Young or Gene Simmons?

Brian Washburn is the founder of DBW and is currently working on a way to revolutionize the music industry.

It is extremely debatable what city the nation will deem the “national music capitol.” While Nashville, Memphis and, of course, Los Angeles all have bones to pick with this debate, some music fans — especially those live concert fanatics — will call Austin, Texas, the “national music capitol.”

After a wedding brought me to Austin last weekend, it is not only clear the town is definitely weird, the sense of music is all over, but most surprising, Austin is simply a big-city version of Fayetteville, which says much for the potential of the local music scene here in the Ozarks.

Being a part of the wedding party and my limited time in the weird town — there’s a long-running “Keep Austin Weird” campaign — kept me from further exploring the parameters of the entire music scene. But I did get a small taste with tours around town to fully picture where music festivals such as South by Southwest and Austin City Limits take place.

The rehearsal dinner found me at a nice bar patio with live music on Austin’s famed Sixth Street on Friday night. Each band seemed to be locals who play on a regular basis and might not have any national recognition yet, and they did resemble the sounds and sights music listeners would find in Fayetteville.

The first band was playing when I entered the patio, and they went on for more than an hour after I arrived. Equipped with a funky, jazzy sound and no vocals, they were clearly in the same genre that Fayetteville music scenesters dig, especially the Wakarusa crowd.

Even though the groovy jam genre is still on the rise in Fayetteville, it was the second local band who performed that really epitomized the link between the Austin music scene and the Fayetteville scene. The band played acoustic, alternative music with an abundance of country flair thrown in. Though it was a bit aston-ishing and unique to see the drummer not banging on a full drum set, but instead on what seemed like either a board or part of an electronic drum set. I still can’t figure it out, as I was standing on the patio looking down on the band.

However, neither of these two acts impressed me too much outside of the fact that it was entertaining to listen to some live music while socializing and having a few drinks at an Austin bar. But here is my point: On any night in Fayetteville this is the same answer from those hovering around Dickson Street — unless, of course, there is a major local show or local act rolling through town.

The skyrises, the businesses, the plethora of taxi cabs, the abundance of people everywhere — no, this doesn’t exactly describe Fayetteville, but it does describe Austin. Try this one on for size, though: Rows of bars, live music heard from every street corner, young adult free spirits roaming the streets with one another looking for the next drink and hot spot. This does describe Dickson Street on a Friday night, but this description actually belongs to Sixth Street in Austin. It also points out the potential Fayetteville has to grow into over the next decade, economy withstanding, of course.

Music festivals like Austin City Limits and South By Southwest have put Austin on the map musically. The Ozarks already has Wakarusa about an hour away, but with a bit more expansion over the next couple of years, Fayetteville could blossom into the music-crazy, fun-loving, free-spirited city it has the capability of being. And nothing proves this point more than driving nine hours southwest and visiting the current “live music capitol in the nation.”

By Brian Washburn

A venue can make or break a concert. If the venue is crowded, hot, sweaty and cramped, then it’s probably not going to be enjoyable — unless you are the fanatic in the front screaming at the top of your lungs, which we have all been guilty of a few times.

If the venue is too big and the fans don’t get the intimate setting that makes for a truly remarkable experience, the concert can be a bore. George’s Majestic Lounge has proven to be the go-to place for Fayetteville’s concert scene. However, at times, it has been a bit of a downfall for some artists who stroll through the area.

The last time Derek Vincent Smith aka Pretty Lights played Fayetteville, it was at George’s. Even though the show sold out and the place was packed from wall to wall, the atmosphere and show in general was a bit of a letdown compared to the usual sets produced on George’s backroom stage.

Because of the great number of area music fans who flock to see Smith and his extraordinary DJ skills, George’s booked Pretty Lights again, but this time at the Fayetteville Town Center. At first I was skeptical about the Town Center. The only concert I’d been to there was more party/orgy than music — the Three 6 Mafia concert there a couple years ago.

But the Pretty Lights show was different. As the night grew on and the Town Center quickly filled up with more than 1,000 Fayetteville music junkies, my worries were put to rest. The show and atmosphere could not have been any better. Even though the Town Center definitely has a much more formal vibe than the backroom at George’s, workers did their best and turned the Town Center into a home-away-from-home for George’s concert regulars.

Bars were set up at the back, and people could smoke on the balcony overlooking Fayetteville. However, it was the music and the environment by the stage that really set the night off. Last time Smith played Fayetteville, for some reason, the set did not translate into one of those one-of-a-kind shows you find yourself feeling nostalgic about the week after the concert. This time, it nailed it on the head.

Dancing was happening from every corner of the Town Center, and Smith, along with a live drummer, put on a fantastic show going through his back catalog of popular tracks as well as testing new material from his latest release. Though the music provided the night’s entertainment and kept the crowd dancing and raving until the place shut down after midnight, it was the atmosphere and the environment that truly made the night special.

More concerts of this caliber at the Town Center are needed to provide the Fayetteville music scene with the big-name events and acts potentially heading this way — although the cleanup crews might not be apt to this idea.

Derek Vincent Smith, with the change of arena, provided the Fayetteville music scene with the phenomenal concert that all in attendance this time and last time know he is capable of.

Brian Washburn is the founder of DBW and is currently working on a way to revolutionize the music industry.

By Brian Washburn

One of Northwest Arkansas’s biggest rock bands is about to get even bigger. But this time they are about to blow up on a national level. With the help of an abundance of shows around the U.S. and a new album released last week, A Good Fight is all engines go and on full blast.

After the release of their debut album, “The City Could Be Ours By Morning,” the Fayetteville band — vocalist Eddie Love, guitarist Dustin Woods, bassist Jon Woods and drummer Sean Merriott — was on the verge of breaking out of the NWA bubble and hitting the big time. The band was featured in national music publications, and their music was played on MTV. Although “The City Could Be Ours By Morning” got heavy play around the area and featured modern-rock guitar riffs with Love’s distinct vocals, the band says their new album is going to be a step up.

“On ‘The City Could Be Ours By Morning,’ it was apparent to us that it wasn’t crisp, polished or as big as we wanted when we went back into the studio,” Dustin Woods said. “We really took our time with this record, involving many powerful moments of our lives that left us bare. This album is no five-dollar peep show. There was plenty of focus, passion and emotion that went into every second of it.”

The band has learned how to communicate better. As Woods describes it, they moved past the awkward moments of conversation they used to go through to get to a point.

Part of the band’s new focus came from a reminder to themselves to “have fun, strive for creative peak and still keep a resemblance to our sound,” Woods said.

“This album is really a carnival ride of influences and lyrical intent. We wrote a few songs that included local artists like Colin Hardaway, and Amyh Hart to bring out these different influences. It was just a natural progression to come close to the basics of why we all play in a band,” he said. “The best part of this album is trying to narrows each sound down to a certain band. Most critics love to do that.”

The band’s modern rock sound and Love’s vocals is what got the group noticed by the national media in the first place. Even though record companies seemed interested in the band for a while, the new album — tentatively self titled — is what the band is going to present to managers and labels.

“There are plenty of prospects out there that have been waiting on this new album to surface. We are still talking to those people and once these CDs get in our hands, the first ones out of the bunch are going straight out the door to them,” Woods said. “We are currently seeking management, booking and label support. Never really acting on these goals before, we will be pushing open as many doors as we can. It’s hard to get backing, especially when you are based in the fly-by states, but we will take it one day at a time like always, keeping our eyes and ears open to new possibilities.”

The new album features a mix of the same rock sound the band is known for, but as Woods says, it is bigger. Even though A Good Fight does slow it down on a few of the tracks, the harder, faster songs resemble old-school Green Day pop-punk with a strong mix of the current post-hardcore rock circulating on alternative radio stations. However, it’s Love’s vocals that catch the listeners’ attention and probably the attention and pocketbooks of record labels and band managers.

A Good Fight will be hitting the stage regionally with several big name acts. Though the album is the band’s number one priority, Wood said their first goal is to build a faithful audience.

“Without the fans that we have made so far, this new record wouldn’t have been possible. Each one of us wants to hit the road and live from stage to stage. There are several ways of doing that, and we are working out the best ways for us to do that now … . We are looking to fan this fire all the way to the coasts.”

Brian Washburn is the founder of DBW and is currently working on a way to revolutionize the music industry.

Pmtoday are no strangers to the local music scene, as they have played all over the states for almost a decade. Their debut album, “And Then The Hurricane,” was self-released and featured an inclination of the musical turn the band was about to take away from the mainstream pop-punk. They even avoided taking up the southern rock trend that fluttered through NWA for a few years.

But with “In Medias Res,” the Arkansas boys take their progressive, guitar-driven post-hardcore rock to the next level. The overall sound is not too different from that of previous pmtoday efforts. The songs flow effortlessly from one song to the other. The lyrical inspiration is one not often found — the idea that every person is a machine carries throughout the album. However, it is the musical ability of these young 20-somethings that captures listeners and steals the show for the entire album.

Guitarists Connor and Cuinn Brogan use progressive, ambient effects along with stylistic and pure talented sweeping, picking and tapping to give listeners a melodic, technical rock sound that some have possibly never heard before. The band can blend hooks and mind-blowing technical guitar work into a three- or four-minute song that will simply blow you away at the way.

Though the guitar work has improved on “In Medias Res,” it was still phenomenal on pmtoday’s previous efforts. On this latest effort, however, the rhythm section has kicked into an even higher gear with the drums blasting harder and the bass producing stronger riffs to go hand-in-hand with the guitar work.

The main difference with pmtoday’s sound on this album is the slower jams. Tracks such as “Don’t Exist” and “I Am Wrong” turn down the guitar amps while still keeping the technical skill going and find vocalist Connor and Ryan lowering their vocals just a bit to give listeners the perfect blend of a soft rock melody hardly found in today’s scene.

“In Medias Res’” sound might not venture far from the genre pmtoday have been grouped with (they are signed to Rise Records, which is known for having some truly awful, generic bands on their label). But, it is a wonder to this columnist how pmtoday have not blown up rock radio yet.

Brian Washburn is the founder of DBW and is currently working on a way to revolutionize the music industry.