cactusgrass by Scott Low (of efren) official video!

'Stuck in the Country' Offical Music Video by Scott Low

From his album, The Stories I Shouldn’t Tell, Scott Low presents the music video “Stuck in the Country”.

Filmed and edited by Jay Braver (www.JayBraver.com), the video was filmed at the Historic Village at Hurricane Shoals State Park in Maysville, Georgia.

The Stories I Shouldn’t Tell includes 14 tracks recorded over the last two years, available on Amazonand iTunes.

Bio:

Scott Low currently leads the band Efren, as well as penning his own southern folk songs. He has been writing and playing songs a long time and has dabbled in many genres: punk, jazz, bluegrass, rock, blues, folk, Americana, country, not in that order. Playing hundreds of stages and rooms, the song has lead the way.

Chasing the melody and pushing thru stories and odd analogies, after bouts of lead guitar ego bubbles, Scott decided to start singing and reconnecting with the American song, verse, chorus repeat, maybe a bridge. Writing about our lives, the ones we love and especially the ones we don’t. Scott Low sings songs of loss, love, drinking, and rumors of peace. Scott Low comes from Athens, GA; which is the home of intense creativity and true American art and music. Scott has returned to writing and singing. He lives to play the guitar and listen to Townes, Dylan, Ben Nichols, Hank, Cash, Tweedy and Willie. Divorce and children mixed with dirt roads, friends and Georgia hills are all blended in to create his sound… A couple hundred shows, four albums, and intimate views on many songs, a solo stage has called Scott to tell these stories. In just under two and a half years the stories and harmonies from the quartet of albums pushed our ability and perspective. While Efren will never die, Scott Low has a separate agenda, a dark road that must be traversed alone.

Now wrapping up a full length solo album of folk southern Americana songs, Scott pushes ahead. Love has been found, but scars don’t heal too easy in the back country. The humidity of the South radiates tell intriguing tales (probably more than just the humidity).

“As the main man in Athens, Ga.-based Americana band Efren, Low currently stands out as one of the Peach State’s potentially great up-and-coming songwriters.”
– T. Ballard Lesemann, Charleston City Paper (Jun 27, 2012)

Tour of Duty

Since Jason Isbell’s newest album Southeastern was released earlier this year, it has been a mainstay in my daily musical rotation.  It is safe to say I have listened to Southeastern more than I have not since its release.  This year I have been lucky enough to have more than one album speak to me and seem relevant with my current place in life.  I have been a fan of Jason’s for several years and I have been following his solo career pretty closely, especially, as of late, with his new lease on life found in his relief from his battle with alcohol and substance abuse.  Like Jason, I have had my own battles with drugs and alcohol and we are on a pretty close timeline in our journey into sobriety. His new album resonates loud with the struggles of the past, bad mistakes, lost love, and redemption.  All emotions and experiences I know too well.  Southeastern and Jason’s show last night at the Georgia Theatre are testaments to the fact that people can change, despite the pain, and come back better than ever. 

I have wanted to do a piece on Mr. Isbell for some time now, but I have been holding off for the right time and it has finally arrived.  Last night’s show at the Georgia Theatre was pretty special for a few reasons.  I had an extra ticket and was able to give it to a buddy of mine who is a big fan; one that despite all the concerts he has seen over the years has never been to the famous Georgia Theatre.  A trip to the GATH is a must for any true music fan, but when it is one of your favorite musicians, it makes it that much better.  Watching my friend shake his fist and sing along to Jason’s mighty voice and doing some rocking of my own with a few amazing new friends encapsulated everything that is great about a true rock n roll experience.

Flying over Water, from the new album started everything off.  This is one of my favorites to sing along to, showing Jason’s strength not only as a guitar player but as a singer as well.  With this we were off and running.  Go it Alone, Tour of Duty, Decoration Day, and Outfit were all fantastic mixing the old and new together flawlessly.  With Different Days, out came the acoustic guitar and things slowed down a bit. All country and full of glory Jason sang these slow and admittedly sad songs with a huge smile.  Live Oak, Stockholm, and Travelling Alone are three of my favorites and he nailed them all with confidence.  The band wrapped up the show with Never Gonna Change, Alabama Pines, and Goddamn Lonely Love.  All were deep and heartfelt played with the passion of a new man, finally comfortable in his own boots.  Jason encored with Super 8 and the Stones’ Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’.  Both were full tilt, straight up rock n roll. The GATH was rockin’ and Jason loved it.  It was more than obvious Jason was happy to be in that moment on that sacred stage.

 Jason nailed the night and it showed in his voice, his guitar, and his smile.  He looked healthy and happy, seeming to be having the time of his life.  It was great to hear everyone cheer when he sang of “swearing that stuff off for good this time.”  It was more than evident that a clear and sober mind does a body good, and allow for all the greatness to show after hiding in the dark for so long.  Jason put on a great show, he knew it, and the crowd knew it and we all felt good.  Leaving a rock show the way we should; happy and satisfied.  Hopefully, Jason will continue on his own Tour of Duty, proving song by song  and show by show that he is hands down the best songwriter in America today.

One last note, St. Paul and the Broken Bones open the show last night and all I can say is wow.  If you love Otis Redding the way I do, you will love these guys.  They will be one to keep an eye on for sure.  Simply amazing!

GO SEE LIVE MUSIC

Music Midtown 2013

By Rusty Ruus

Friday the lineup sucked. The two Americana bands on the whole festival bill were Drivin' & Cryin' and North Mississippi Allstars. Both played at 4:00 and were missed by 90% of the attendants. Thanks a lot, schedule maker. F-you, too, BTW...  Then, it was a huge line of shit, including 2 Chains, Phoenix, and fuck; I can't remember all that garbage...  Long story short, Jane's Addiction still fucking rocks and bringing out 2 women who jammed meat hooks through their backs and swung around over the crowd put them over the top as the best act of the festival. It felt really wrong & really right at the same time.  I won't even discuss who the genius was that decided that Mexican karaoke  Journey deserved to be Friday's headliner, but I'll say, the lil' guy sounded just like Steve Perry as I was walking to my car...  At least the weather was beautiful....

Saturday the weather WAS NOT beautiful.  It rained like a motherfucker for the 1st 6 hours of the fest. Completely mud pitting the festival grounds and dampening some goddamn great sets from Reignwolf and the Black Lips.  The locals Black Lips came out to thunderous Atlanta Braves tomahawk chop music (well played, guys) and told tales of sneaking into all Music Midtown's from the past.  Weezer was okay. Meh. They played Jonas & Hashpipe 1st & 2nd so I went to eat at the food trucks 3rd time.  The Arctic Monkeys, one more time, The Arctic Monkeys, They were brilliant. During their set, the rain began to let up, a bit. They were my most anticipated band at the show & did not disappoint. Alex Turner is a really charismatic rock star & told tales to lead from one song to the other... The rhythm with which he delivers the lyrics is really unique and it was great to finally see them. Looking forward to seeing them in a smaller venue, they fucking jammed.... And a big, fat +1 to any dude who carries a comb in his pocket & brushes his hair countless times between songs... The Yeah Yeah Yeahs did not rock that much or hard. Karen O (who has been fucking banshee rock beast in the past) was over doing it and not that spontaneous. I went and ate food trucks again, when Maps began... Karen O? More like Lame-O.  Queens of the Stone Age was next... And Awesome! Josh & Alex Turner (arctic Monkeys) have a similar swagger to their delivery. Since we left YYYs early, we were able to get up on the rail for QOTSA. It made a huge difference. Except for the raging drunks, the set was phenomenal. They have been & will always be one of my favorite bands... Lil' sad that Atlanta got a festival set instead of a headlining gig but they'll be back soon & I anticipate it being awesome... Nothing like being in the front of 35,000 rock fans, though!  Red Hot Chili Peppers headlined. They play too much new stuff & my feet hurt... & I was soaked... 

Except for the weather (excused) poor scheduling (inexcusable) that forced me to miss BOTH DnC and NMAS, Kendrick Lamar (for QOTSA), and Cake (for Jane's), Music Midtown 2013 was pretty damn fun.

Today Was a Good Day

Today, being yesterday, which was Saturday, was a great day.  It was the second day of Jay Rodger’s birthday celebration at the Max Canada.  The music was both Friday and Saturday nights with proceeds going to support the Athens Human Rights Festival.  Perfectly, this coincided with my own birthday on Friday.  Jay managed to pick the right bands for the weekend.  It was a perfect mix of roots rock, Americana, southern soul, and ska/punk/reggae, and hip-hop party music.   The crowd was great, new friends were made, and we all did our part to help further the Human Rights fight, all with the mighty sword of rock n roll.

I am a little bit of a late bloomer when it comes to the punk, ska, and reggae scene.  Although Sublime was a large part of my early twenties, bands such as Social Distortion, the Clash and Danzig are fairly recent additions to my musical rotations.  The Mighty Mighty Bosstones pop in and out from time to time, but for the most part ska and reggae are not part of my regular intake.  However, with the rebirth of my workout routine, these genres have been added to the play lists to help get this old man through a few hours of painful exercise every day.  Now that my love affair with the jam band scene is quickly coming to an end, I am realizing how much fantastic music I have been missing out on.  Last night’s Lowdive show, reinforced the fact that I need to get off that sad, whiskey soaked, alt country train and put some more fun, upbeat, happy music into my diet. 

Looking at the words thesaruas.com lists as synonyms for fun to find the right description for Lowdive, I think I will go with boisterous, diverting, merry, and witty.  The word fun does not touch the tip of the iceberg for the performance these guys put out on Saturday night.  The song selection was wonderful.  Songs about booze, mouth tumors, tits and Liz Taylor are all originals; some reggae, some ska, some punk, all fantastic.  These guys are high energy all the way and had the crowd rocking.  An old friend told me once you can never go wrong with a three guitar attack.  After watching Lowdive’s show, if I did not agree with my friend before, I do now.  Josh Perkins, Dede Giddens, and Colin Hatmaker, all on guitars, brought the heat, mashing it all up with Jay’s bass, Scotty Nichols’ keys, and that beast of a drummer, Tanka, hammering that shit down my ear hole to the point of a rock n roll orgasm. Top all that off with the balls to cover songs by the Police, Prince, the Who and Ice Cube, and they nailed all of them in their own funky kind of way.  Lowdive blew me away and sent me home satisfied with a huge smile on my face.  I cannot wait to see them again

Every time I hear Ice Cube’s “Today Was a Good Day”, it always puts my life in a better perspective.  It reminds me of how truly blessed I am.  I am one lucky son of a gun to live this amazing life full of fantastic music and celebration.  Maybe one day we can convince Lowdive to put out their own version of this song from the early 90’s that we can all sing along to happy and guilt free.

Happy Birthday Jay Rodgers!

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The Right Place at the Right Time

            Through out rock n roll history there have been cities and places in time where the music carved its own path.  Memphis, New York, L.A., San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, Detroit, Muscle Shoals, and even little Athens, Ga have all been cities to have that have made their mark on the rock n roll timeline.  And like all good things they must come to an end.  Some places, however, might be lucky enough to see lightening strike twice.  Well the rock n roll Gods are at it again and a storm is brewing here in Athens, Georgia and that lightening that struck here years ago is on the horizon one more time. 

            Saturday night I set out for a full night of rock n roll satisfaction and headed to the Caledonia Lounge for Adam Payne’s birthday celebration.  I had caught Danglfy, Adam’s band, during Athfest and was excited to see them in a small dark room.  Some bands just belong on those stages.  Street Rhythm and Rhyme got the night started.  A young four piece, born in Athens, seemed to have all the right moves.  Despite my current fascination with dark, sad, whiskey driven music, the rhythm and the rhyme put a huge grin on my face.  The music was loud, happy and full of smiles.  The young kid on the lead guitar ripped his parts to shreds with vigorous enthusiasm.  These guys were tight and happy, plus, any band that gets the cute girls out and gets them dancing gets a in my book any day.  This little nerdy kid next to me was getting down and having the time of his life, and it felt good to watch him.  I found myself laughing and smiling through the whole set, enjoying the brighter side of rock n roll for a change.

            Dangfly! I have seen my fair share of music since my first show in 1990.  Without a doubt Dangfly is the real fucking deal.  I was right about seeing these guys in a small dark room.  The sound was right, just loud enough to hurt a little.  At a loss for words to truly describe the essence of this amazing band, my new friend Josh Perkins of Lowdive, said true Americana with balls.  I could not agree more, especially with the balls part.  Right smack in the middle of the set these guys break into Journey’s Separate Ways and nail it note for freaking note.  First of all, this song will always hold a place in my heart from my youth in the 80’s.  Second, it is a bad ass freaking song that to this day I have never heard anyone else play.  This took balls, even if it is for a small room.  Dangfly went on to play She Makes the Rain, Pledge, and Bangin', all off the new album to name a few.  It was loud, rowdy, and full of rage, pain, happiness, and full of love.  These guys hit on every emotion while melting faces along the way.  As I listen to Thick and Thin now, off the debut; Good Luck, Curiosity, there is no doubt these guys have earned their way to the top of my playlist. Dangfly!

            Earlier in the night I had the pleasure of meeting local Athens singer, songwriter, guitar player, Josh Perkins. Right out the gate we were into it, local music, who was good, who was great, and how much we both loved what is happening here. Josh said it best.  “There is something happening here in Athens, Georgia right now.”  I could not agree more.  There is so much great music here; Athens is bursting at the seams.  We went on throughout the night discussing the thoughts of pod casting, a Guns n Roses Blue Grass Review, and one hundred other things revolving all around Athens music.  It looks like I have landed in the right place at the right time. I will do my part to make sure the world hears about all this fantastic music happening in Athens, Ga, The lighting is coming get ready.

Happy Birthday Adam Payne

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The Write Words to Say

A while back I wrote a piece about breaking the rules of “southern rock”.   Looking back, I used the word rules as method of definition.  There are certain aspects of rock n roll that might define a sound to this or that genre.  However, those rules are by no means confining.  Where would Led Zeppelin be if they “followed” the rules of traditional blues music?  They took a simple format, twisted it, and tortured it until what came out, came out and is now legendary.  Now that I am entering the realm of writing for a profession, I too am faced with the same rules or expectations for my art.  Here I stand at the same crossroads as my artistic predecessors.  Do I conform to the rules of traditional writing or journalistic law just to get paid?  Would I then be a sell out or would I be fulfilling my dream as a paid writer?  Which road is the wisest for my career?

The other night as I was paying the cover charge to see a few local Athens bands, the promoter caught me at the door and said that if I was going to write about the show, I did not need to pay.  I insisted, ultimately, I was there to support the bands.  And I had not decided at that point whether I was going to write about the evening or not.  Rarely, does that decision ever occur before the music plays.  It is never a moment with much forethought.  I either write or I don’t.  I never force it.  I am neither a critic nor a journalist.  I am a fan that chooses to write about music.  Some music moves me and some doesn’t.  Some live performances inspire me to write, others do not.  Neither are ever representative of the quality of music or the performance given.  More often than not, the music I choose to write about is often just a catalyst for some other part of my emotional being that needs to come out in this artistic form I have chosen.  This is my own need for expression. 

Over the last few months I have sent some pieces I have written to several publications in the music arena.  Most of which I have not received any response.  The responses I have received from submissions where all about the rules.  More details about the facts and less about my thoughts or emotion.  And most of all stay away from writing in the first person.  Literally not twenty minutes ago I was discussing this with two well known Athens musicians in my living room.  I described trying to write about rock n roll in the third person is like trying to describe what an LSD trip is like to someone that has never experienced it.  Often, my rock n roll experiences are heavy and can be quite spiritual in a sense.  Sure, I could write about these experiences in the third person, but who wants to read that shit. I don’t.  I write words that I like to read.  I like to read about a true and honest firsthand experience and I know I am not alone here.  Sure I could keep the emotion out of it and keep it just to the facts.  But who really gives a fuck about just the facts?

A while back I caught Dave Grohl’s key note speech from this year’s SXSW music festival.  This was right around the time I started writing about music.  It was powerful, moving, and inspiring.  What I took away from his speech was, do it your way.  Make the art you make your own. Never compromise it for anyone or anything.  So I am going to do what so many others have done before me.  I will follow in the footsteps of the Iggy Pops, the Nirvanas and the Led Zeppelins of the world.  I am going to do it my way, writing how I want to write, and fuck the rest.  And if I happen to get paid along the way, I will be the luckiest guy alive.  Until then, I am just a rock n roll fan writing about what I love.