5 Things We Like Right Now

We're checking in here to throw some of our favorite new stuff atcha. Check these artists out: 1. JD McPherson. Oklahoma guy, caught the interest of our old Chicago homeboy,original Mighty Blue King and Four Charm, Jimmy Sutton, who produced the record and plays bass. 2. Gary Clark Jr.. The present and future of Texas Blues, a complete and total animal. On the guitar. We don't know Gary personally, but we'll assume he's a perfectly nice dude when he's not making a guitar his bitch. 3. Dr. John - dude put out his best album is 30, 40 years this year. Produced by Black Keys' guitarist Dan Auerbach, this is one fine set of fresh music. 4. Jack White. He may be the most prolific if not interesting and commanding artist of the modern era. First, he played bass in the Detroit cowpunk lounge act Goober & the Peas. Then, he formed the raucous and bluesy 2-piece White Stripes with his ex-wife, Meg, who was billed as his sister. Then came the Raconteurs, then the Dead Weather. Along the way, he formed Third Man Records which puts out tons of vinyl by artists ranging from the legendary to the relative unknown, and they host crazy in-store shows at their flagship store in Nashville. His first solo album came out a couple months ago and it might be the Album of the Year. 5. Alabama Shakes. Blues-rock and Southern soul at its finest, right here. Okay, we said 5 things we like but we really meant 6. See how we're always goin' the extra mile for ya, under-promisin', over-deliverin'? Please, please, don't applaud, just throw money! 6. Kelly Hogan is probably best known among the uninitiated as a prominent member of Neko Case's band, but for those of us lucky enough to have stumbled upon her special voice, she's been unwittingly singin' us to sleep for the last 15 years. This is not her first solo album, but it will prove to be her mainstream breakthrough. It's that good. With assists from such stalwarts as Robbie Fulks, M. Ward, Jon Langford, John Wesley Harding, Vic Chesnutt, Booker T. Jones, and the unsung hero of the thing, our old friend Scott Ligon, we can't say enough, other than BUY IT NOW. Blues, real R&B, and Americana are at a relative high right now. There's so much good stuff out there that involves people writing their own stuff, bending strings, hitting things with sticks, pounding on ivory, blowing through brass, stomping on the floor and belting out their souls... and it ain't hard to find. You just gotta wanna find it. Hope to see you in a sweaty club soon, be it ours or somewhere else.