Jamgrassers, take note. You'll like this disc. While mostly original material, the South Austin Jug Band opens their debut album with a nod to tradition with "Long Journey Home." Two guitars, fiddle, mandolin, bass. With lots of strings bursting with bright, breezy pep, the South Austin Jug Band is not a jug band, but they certainly have that ol' jug band spirit. They've been called bluegrass (nope!), newgrass (I doubt it), neo-Jug (what's that?), acoustic country-folk (too plain and simple for these guys!), Texas roots unplugged (I like it!), swinging Lone Star beatnik country (that's better.). Especially when they sing their original of Texas, "Hill Country Nights," with references to navy skies, trees of green, stars, and country breezes. The band very smartly incorporated a few of Lloyd Maines' tasty dobro riffs and fills into the mix on this song, but I wish they would've given him a full break..or even half of one!

These guys are full of the old GO. The group initially formed as a pick-up band for a gig that singer/songwriter and guitarist James Hyland had. For some help, Hyland called on bassist Will Dupuy, mandolinist Matt Slusher, guitarist Willie Pipkin and fiddler Warren Hood. The guys clicked, the music jelled, and everybody had a good time. The band's quintet is supplemented with two special guests -- Lloyd Maines (dobro) and Warren Hood (violin on "Motor City Man" and second violin on "Old Settler's Breakdown"). There are a couple numbers that a guest banjo-player could have really torn up, but no matter. The band emphasizes hotly picked (or sawed) guitar, mandolin, and fiddle. I was prepared to dislike their acoustic cover of Jimmy Hendrix's "Little Wing," but it's actually a nice, innovative resurrection and interpretation of the sixties' song that showcases Ludiker's fine bowing. Walter Hyatt's "Motor City Man" is an equally fine rendition but would've been enhanced by its sequential presentation in the set after Slusher and Hood's "Ramen Noodle Rag," instead of before it.

The South Austin Jug Band (SAJB) has a charming appeal that will attract a younger generation to acoustic music. Besides their obvious youthful exuberance and musical talent, the professional production skills of Lloyd Maines have been employed, who has experience producing The Dixie Chicks, Robert Earl Keen and Ray Wylie Hubbard. One slight complaint is that the bold liner notes and lyrics superimposed over a dark or gray background make the disc's jacket a little unaesthetic and difficult to read.

Seven of the twelve tracks are original offerings. Of Hyland's compositions, I took an immediate liking to "My Baby in the Sunshine," and his desire to "buy up all the sunshine and give it all to you." The song has a strong bluegrassy flavor and might have been embellished with a hot guest banjo picker. His "Ballad of Eddie Mullet" is an outlaw's tale whose robbing and murdering ways result in life without parole. Slusher's funky "Turanaround" has few lyrics and a short message to relax and "watch your whole day turnaround." Dupuy sings of a lost love and a lonely place between "Cactus and Caliche," written abut 6 months after the horrific breakup of a 2-year relationship. Besides Ramen Noodle Rag, another instrumental, "Cuttin' the Mullet," (a duet collaboration of the band's bass and mandolin players) is a finely-paced romp that also cuts the mandolin mustard in addition to the "mullet," a type of haircut also known as the Mississippi mud flap.

As a unit, the SAJB shows a number of musical influences, but one primary mentor was Warren Hood's late father, Champ Hood, an Austin music legend. His groups, The Threadgills Troubadours and Uncle Walt's Band (which also included the late Walter Hyatt and David Ball), obviously saw the South Austin Jug Band as a rejuvenation of their own approach to music. The SAJB are another generation of prolific musicians to carry on as one part Austin's invigorated acoustic music scene. A weekly gig at Momo's, a live album recorded there, and a diverse repertoire helped them to build a legion of loyal fans. When Hood left the band to attend Berklee College of Music, they called on Washington State fiddler Dennis Ludiker. The Jug Band took the new band contest at the 2002 Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and Ludiker took first place at the prestigious Winfield, KS. fiddle competition.

Slusher calls their music "an organized campfire acoustic jam session with a few of the rough edges knocked off, but not all of them. It's people playing good music, having a good time, and giving it 100 percent." While the South Austin Jug Band may still have a few remnant "rough edges," they maintain a very active and busy touring schedule. However, they need better promotion! When recently touring the Pacific Northwest in January, 2004, I just stumbled upon their schedule while writing this review. With a little luck and growth, this band could really go places. (Joe Ross)

SOUTH AUSTIN JUG BAND - South Austin Jug Band
No label, No number
Tel. (512)353-1163 or (512)288-2023

www.southaustinjugband.com
Total Playing Time - 46:35

Songs - Long Journey Home, Turn Around, My Baby in the Sunshine, Hill Country Nights, Little Wing, Motor City Man, Ramen Noodle Rag, Cuttin' the Mullet, The Ballad of Eddie Mullet, Cactus and Caliche, Stealin', Old Settler's Breakdown