underrated or unheard of musician/band


Hopefully this thread will lead us all to new non-commercialized things to listen to. There is a ton of talent hiding out there so here we go, lets uncover some!

Hacienda Brothers. Twang all the way with a touch of south of the boarder, some blues and some rockabilly sometimes all in the same song (it works trust me). They have , among others, Dave Gonzolas, the guitarist for the Palidans (rockabilly hardcores) a great pedal player and Chris Gafney doing vocals. First album just came out. Definately a live show band.

Dave Alvin great songwriting IMO. every song tells a story and most of them aint happy. Covers roots rock, country, blues. Museam of hearts is a good start as is king of california.

Curtis Salgodo. Another live show guy. The songs are good but the recordings don't carry his passion. not to say the recordings aren't good. Soul, R&B and Blues. has done stints with roomfull of blues and santana.

Tinsley Ellis. king of blues and Blues rock. great playing, great voice and usually great songs. Would smoke Clapton on a bad night IMO. Killer live shows and the recordings carry the ball as well.

Afro Celt Sound System Celtic music blended with electronic under tutalidge, if not leadership, of Peter Gabriel.

Sonia Dada. white chicago rock band meets black street singer group and the rest is history. Great live, great late at night loud. Kida funky, kida soulfull. Vocals as you might expect are very good.

Ray Condo and the Ricochets. Unfortunately Ray passed last year so live shows are out. Too bad because the consistantly rate as some of the most fun i've ever seen. Country Swing and honky tonk.

Danny Gatton and (i'm in a big brain fade here on the first name. Robert i think. age sucks) Gordon "The humbler." OK among guitar players he ain't unknown and being rated as a god by guitarists and winning guitar players best player selection ain't exactly underrated he fits based on being called the workds greatist unknown guitarist. Jaw dropping rockabilly here and it was only their 4th gig together. The soundman at a one night gig knew he was on to something so he grabbed a take of the night. Unfortunately Danny couldn't overcome the blues and did himself in a number of years ago.

Shoogie Otis. Just gotta check it out.

I'll think some more and add some more later.
piezo
Christine Kane -- she has about four cd's. Good music, wonderful lyrics, very poetic in a folksy/earthy/next-door kind of way. Great voice! I first heard her perform for the North Carolina Dance Theatre and I've been a big fan since.
Nice to know that there are some other Paul Westerberg fans out there. My only beef with Westerberg is that the sound quality on many of his recordings is lacking. The more money I sink into my 2 channel system, the more apparent become the flaws in his recordings.

As I age (currently 40), I'm opening really up to other genre's... most notably jazz and classical. But I'll aways have a place in my heart for Westerberg.

Other notables: Son Volt, Jack Johnson and Wilco
Dan Bern, his stuff is funny, touching, satirically biting. Sometimes all in the same song. Also Patrick Park. My daughter let me borrow "Loneliness Knows My Name,' and she's not getting it back. It's kind of a throwback sound, check it out.
All of these artist have multiple superb albums with Ocean Colour Scene just releasing another. Have seen all but Lloyd Cole live and they are all superb.

Best bets -

The Samples - "The Samples","No Room", "Last Drag", "Auto Pilot" plus Jeep Macnichol's (former standout drummer) last solo "Cool and Easy, he shows the original Samples line up was much more than Sean Kelly. Jeep has a new one due out soon www.jeepmusic.com for some free downloads.

Ocean Colour Scene - "B Sides C Sides and Free Rides" - "Marchin' Already", "Molsey Shoals". Just a great english band with true heart and soul poured into their 70s rock/folk style.

Lloyd Cole - Just about anything he has done is very good. One of the best songwriters no one knows about. (agree on Paul W. also)

Dont gorget Guster and Travis two of the best relatively young bands out there not making it huge in the US although they have some commercial success. Each have a live DVD out (Travis has two) that is simply incredible to watch and listen to.
Griff Hamlin Band
Pappa Chubby
Phil Keaggy
Kings X
Merchants of Venus
Brother Cane
Johnny Winter
Kazumi Watanabi
Son Seals
Roy Rodgers