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'Alternative country' is a term applied to various subgenres of country music.

Contents

History

Alt.Country Today

See also

References

Radio Shows

External links

History

"Alternative country" can refer to several ideas. Most generally, any musician who plays a type of country music different from the prevailing trend can be said to play "alternative country". By this standard, for example, the Bakersfield sound was alternative in the 1950s, and the Lubbock, Texas musicians were alternative in the 1960s.
In the 1990s however, "alternative country" came to refer to a disparate group of musicians and singers operating outside the traditions and industry of mainstream country music. In general these musicians eschewed the high production values and pop outlook of the Nashville-dominated industry, to produce music with a lo-fi sound, frequently informed with a strong punk and rock & roll aesthetic, bending the traditional rules of country music. Lyrics are often bleak, gothic or socially aware. Otherwise, the musical styles of artists that fall within this genre often have little in common, ranging from traditional American folk tunes and bluegrass, through rockabilly and honky-tonk, to music that is indistinguishable from mainstream rock or country. Indeed many alternative country artists come from punk and rock backgrounds. This already broad labelling has been further confused by alternative country artists disavowing the movement, mainstream artists declaring they are part of it, and the retroactive claiming of past or veteran musicians as alternative country. No Depression, the most well known magazine of the genre, declares that it covers "alternative-country music (whatever that is)".
Despite this confusion, it is generally agreed that alternative country resulted from two opposing influences. The first is traditional American country music, the music of working people, preserved and celebrated by practitioners such as Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams and The Carter Family. The second is country rock, the result of fusing country music with an aggressive rock & roll sound. The artist most commonly identified as the originator of country rock is Gram Parsons (who referred to his sound as "Cosmic American Music"), although Jason and the Scorchers, and Steve Earle are frequently identified as important innovators. These two styles merged in Uncle Tupelo's 1990 LP ''No Depression'', and this album is widely credited with being the first "alt-country" album. The bands Whiskeytown and The Old 97's,continued in this tradition and former Whiskeytown singer Ryan Adams continues to shape the genre to this day in his solo career. Neil Young has embodied both the rock and folk/country influences for many years, and could be considered the "Godfather of Alt Country", carrying it from the Woodstock era thru to the Gen X and new era.
Alternative country is popularly referred to, especially in print, as "alt-country" or sometimes "alt.country". The genre is also referred to under a large number of other names, including "americana", "trashcan americana", "insurgent country", "neotraditional", "no depression", "cowpunk", "progressive country", "regressive country", "lo-fi country", "roots rock", "twang core", "rural contemporary", "country-punk", "y'allternative", "hick rock", "count-rock", "alternative country-rock" and many others.

Alt.Country Today

Today a growing collective of musicians from across the country are taking a darker, more rustic approach to the genre, creating a subculture commonly referred to as "Gothic-Americana". Many credit this style's origins to the artists that came from the Denver scene in the mid to late 90s, such as the Denver Gentlemen and 16 Horsepower. Today's alt.country musicians blend traditional folk, americana, gypsy, blues, bluegrass, country, and rockabilly with punk and alternative rock to create an original style of music firmly rooted in the alt.country trenches, but with a much darker side. Traditional instruments like violins, banjos, harmonicas, accordions and mandolins mix with electric guitars, powerful drumming and upright bass to create a dynamic, raw sound. The scene encompasses a rogue's gallery of performers and musicians, sharing the stage with burlesque dancers and circus freaks. Like a medicine show without the snake oil, the shows are filled with an incomparable energy. Pushed along by bands such as Slim Cessna's Auto Club and Jay Munly, Strawfoot, Reverend Glasseye, Curtis Eller, the Monads, Creech Holler, William Elliott Whitmore and many others, fans are growing in large numbers around the world.

See also

★ List of alternative country musicians

★ Red Dirt Music

★ Texas Country

References

★ Alden, Grant; & Blackstock, Peter (1998). "No Depression: An Introduction to Alternative Country Music. Whatever That Is". Dowling Pr. ISBN 1-891847-00-7.

★ Goodman, David (1999). "Modern Twang: An Alternative Country Music Guide and Directory". Dowling Pr. ISBN 1-891847-03-1.

Radio Shows

★ The Back Porch Show with Mitchell Keller

★ Altville with Buzz Brainard

External links

★ AltCountryTab

★ AlternativeCountry.com

★ Americana UK

★ Joe Sixpack's alternative country music guide

★ "So what is insurgent country anyway?"

★ An alternative country thesis

★ Americana Music News, Reviews, Interviews and Podcast Shows

★ In-depth article about punk & alt-country from Punk Planet 66

★ No Depression Movement from the Survey of American Popular Music by Frank Hoffmann and modified for the web by Robert Birkline

★ HickoryWind.org - Americana, Bluegrass, & Alt Country News, Reviews, & Personality

★ Interviews and Live Performances from alt.country artists on Chicago TV show "Corporate Country Sucks"