Rebirth Brass Band

Counting it down to ACL with the boyz from the Big Easy, the best brass band in the land - Rebirth Brass Band!!! If you're from the South or like jazz music, you should be familiar with RBB. For all you carpetbaggers, Rebirth is a Treme institution formed by tuba player Philip Frazier, his brother Keith, and trumpet player Kermit Ruffins. By combining traditional New Orleans brass band music with funk, soul, and rap, Rebirth has and continues to appeal to younger generations. If you have the chance to see them live, do not pass it up! It's only the second most fun you can have on a hot, humid, southern night.

Do yourself a favor and download "Rebirth Melody/Casanova" and listen from the 3:30 mark on.

Do Whatcha Wanna


Feel Like Funkin' It Up


Rebirth Melody/Casanova


Video of "Casanova" live

Rebirth Brass Band

Texas Two-Step

B-B-Baby Ass is a-a-about to make your pee-pee maker t-t-tingle. In a salute to Austin City Limits - just one month away! - I've decided to highlight two Texas bands at opposite ends of the musical spectrum. First, Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses released their second major label album, Roadhouse Sun, June 2nd of this year. Bingham lends his raspy, Dylan-esque voice and melodic guitar picking to 12 songs that I'm proud to say were made in Texas. I'm not a huge fan of the genre, but artists like Bingham and Shooter Jennings are doing their best to put the "O" back in "Country." Here are three of my favorite songs from the album and the video to "Southside of Heaven" from Bingham's 2007 release Mescalito.

Day Is Done


Tell My Mother I Miss Her So


Snake Eyes


Southside of Heaven
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg7H_KpispY

Second is Austin's The Octopus Project, an experimental/indie-pop group that likes to use synths and drum machines to get your toes tapping. Fans of The Go! Team will hear some similarities in the songs, especially in the drums, but that's what happens when everyone uses dem 808s. Kidding. Below are three songs off their 2007 album Hello, Avalanche and a video from 2005's One Ten Hundred Thousand Million. Check out Yvonne Lambert rock the theremin in the video for "Music is Happiness." I haven't heard such mastery of the spooky synth since Paul Tanner on The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations." Thank you History of Rock and Roll 101!

Truck


Bees Bein' Strugglin'


Exploding Snowhorse


Music Is Happiness

Texas Two-Step