The Bottle Rockets
NewMusicForOldFolks says …
Before the Drive-By Truckers, there was The Bottle Rockets. The St. Louis-based band takes Middle American themes and infuses them with an Alternative Country feel some like to call Cow Punk. The Bottle Rockets were pioneers in the genre. Think Merle Haggard if his backing band was early The Clash. The band has mellowed some over the years, but the message and the edge are still there. The new album, South Broadway Athletic Club, is getting excellent reviews and the early Bottle Rockets albums were the very influential, but the hidden gem in the collection is 2009's Lean Forward. Give it a listen.
Artist's Info
Website: bottlerocketsmusic.com
See them live: Tour dates
Record company: Bloodshot Records
Genre: Rock ’n Roll, Alternative Country
If you like this, look into: Drive-By Truckers, Old 97's, Heartless Bastards
Bio (From the artists' website)
When The Bottle Rockets hit the scene in the mid ’90s, the world wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. With their punk-rock pedigrees and arena-rock energy, their tougher-than-Springsteen storytelling and their romantic hearts sewn bare on their denim sleeves, the pride of Festus, Mo., confounded musical generalities as they laid waste to clubs across the Midwest and then, soon enough, the nation. Back in a time when the critical language and resulting idioms for mixing underground rock with country was in its infancy, The Bottle Rockets were fearlessly — and quite loudly — playing rootsy weepers alongside howling rave ups, with singer/guitarist Brian Henneman leading the charge as some sort of Roger Miller of the indie set. It’s a sound propped up (and hopped up) just as much on the pillars of Leslie West & Mountain as it was on those of the Ramones and the Clash. (more)
Spotify Sampler
Recordings
Most Recent
SOUTH BROADWAY ATHLETIC CLUB (2015): The Bottle Rockets brand of populist, Midwestern, brawny rock n roll is a sound so effortless, it's easy to take their craft for granted; a sound so universal, yet unmistakably The Bottle Rockets. They've crushed rowdy Friday night crowds, convinced sitting audiences to get on their feet, and pulled weary festival onlookers across muddy fields to the front of the stage. With their 12th album, South Broadway Athletic Club, the quartet gives a master class in capturing the beauty of everyday life, and painting a portrait of ongoing hope. South Broadway Athletic Club is an album full of new experiences for the band. Although they again worked with longtime producer Eric Roscoe Ambel (of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, The Del-Lords, The Yayhoos) it was the first time the group recorded a full album in their hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. Working at Sawhorse Studios, it was also the first time they scheduled sessions in batches over several months, allowing the songs — and the whole album — to fully breathe and unfold. The extended songwriting process not only allowed a gestation period for the music, but also created the opportunity for a new musical collaboration with the Nashville hit-songwriting family The Henningsens, resulting in the song "Something Good." These fresh directions helped focus the band's creativity and energy throughout the recording sessions, adding further dimension to the album.
Others
Bottle Rockets (1992)
The Brooklyn Side (1994)
24 Hours A Day (1997)
Leftovers (1998)
Brand New Year (1999)
Songs of Sahm (2002)
Blue Sky (2003)
Live in Heilbronn Germany (2006)
Zoysia (2006)
Lean Forward (2009)
Not So Loud (2011)
