Gone and (Mostly) Forgotten: Alternative Country From 2000–2013
“Milwaukuee, here I come/f*ck Nashville, Tennessee…”
-.357 String Band covering the old country standard “Milwaukee, Here I Come” with their own twist
Thanks to a variety of factors, a prevailing school of thought at the moment in country music journalism places the birth of modern Americana and Alternative Country in the year of 2013- when Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, and Kacey Musgraves all released landmark albums that (mostly) deserved plaudits for their influence.
Yet while the successes and legacies of Simpson, Isbell, Musgraves, and whichever hip new Americana act you’d like to include can’t be discounted, Americana and more specifically Alternative Country were once much more exciting, diverse, and inclusive than the scene is today. Indeed, the intersection of punk and country will always be much more likely to create a long-lasting, genuine, and authentic reaction than the lo-fi, coffee-shop vibe that the independent country scene much too often can rely on today.
“I’m gonna leave this town ’til you decide/which one’s you want the most, them Opry stars or me…”
This piece is meant to explore the rise and subsequent descent of the Alternative Country and Americana scene beginning at the turn of the century to 2013 with a brief but necessary background interjection about the most important alt-country band of all-time- Uncle Tupelo- and how the Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy led outfit provided (and should continue to provide) the blueprint.
For without Uncle Tupelo, there would never have been a thirst for bands and artists as diverse as Hank III, Old 97s, Whitey Morgan, American Aquarium, and .357 String Band.
Uncle Tupelo was not the only alternative country band of the 1990s, but they were the most important. Indeed the entire decade of the 90s deserves its own treatment and attention, but at the moment, the 1990s are beyond the scope of this essay. We must, however, provide the proper context for the bands that did rise to prominence after 2000.
Punk and country were not combined by Uncle Tupelo out of nowhere; Dwight Yoakam, Los Lobos, X, and The Blasters were all part of a vibrant Los Angeles Scene in the early to mid 1980s. And yet the manner in which Uncle Tupelo mingled the two seemingly antithetical genres became revolutionary. Uncle Tupelo released their landmark debut album No Depression in 1990. The album sent schockwaves through the American independent music scene (not just the underground country world) thanks to the lonesome, pained, and angsty songwriting, distorted guitars, and distinct vocals from Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy, who each took lead on different songs. But what allowed No Depression to really stand out was the edgy, punk, DIY attitude; indeed, the album was produced by Sean Slade and Paul Kolderie, two men who had worked with the well-known indy band Dinosaur Jr. The guitars popped a little harder, and on “Factory Belt,” the band relied on some Minutemen production techniques with the stop-start of the melody.
The album spawned a periodical called No Depression in 1995 that covered roots music and “so-called” alternative country; indeed, during the late 1990s, “No Depression” went hand-in-hand with alternative country. In a piece on Son Volt for No Depression: An Introduction to Alternative Country Music (whatever that is), Peter Blackstock writes, “No Depression was the launching pad for what has now become a bona fide movement.”
Uncle Tupelo would release three more legendary albums (Still Feel Gone, March 16–20, 1992, and Anodyne) before breaking up in 1994 for most likely creative differences between Farrar and Tweedy (though the usual reserved and private Farrar did mention that there was a specific time an intoxicated Tweedy was hitting on Farrar’s girlfriend in the van). Farrar formed Son Volt, which retained more of the hard-edged punk country in the vein of Uncle Tupelo while Tweedy formed Wilco, which became more exploratory with pop sounds and art rock.
The 1990s were richly filled with bands like Old 97s and Whiskeytown who carried the banner of alternative country and kept the flame alive while Son Volt and Wilco released their debut albums. Robbie Fulks kept the punk edge of alt-country alive while Lucinda Williams broke-out with Car Wheels On a Gravel Road, with the title track becoming an essential alt-country listen.
At the turn of the century, alternative country was vibrant and alive with such a diverse groupe of sounds and artists. As the 2000s began, however, the alt-country and independent country world turned its sights toward a different kind of rebellion. Country radio was lost in the post-Garth world. And it would take a whole different set of alt-country artists to create a new, colorful world- one in which the artists weren’t simply creating the music they wanted, but one in which the artists were intent on giving listeners something else to hear besides the radio.
“Well, The Grand Ole Opry ain’t so grand anymore/did you know Hank Williams ain’t a member, but they keep him outside their door…”
-Hank Williams III, “The Grand Ole Opry (Ain’t So Grand)”
“Lord, honey, you’re a ghost,” Minnie Pearl told Hank Williams III upon meeting the grandson of Hank Williams Sr. Hank Williams III would become a seminal figure in the history of the alternative country movement of the 2000s at the dawn of the social media aga. Indeed, Hank III just missed becoming a star; if he happened to come along in the past five years, he’d be bigger than Tyler Childers or even Jason Isbell in the independent world- judging by the manic fandom his career once received.
Hank III’s debut album, Risin’ Outlaw released in 1999, featured run-of-the-mill neotraditional material. Hank III came to strongly dislike his debut as he felt Curb Records was simply trying to capatalize on his name and prevent him from recording the hard-core material he wanted. Nevertheless, Risin’ Outlaw contained songs from influential alt-country songwriters like Buddy Miller and Wayne “The Train” Hancock.
Hank III followed up Risin’ Outlaw with Lovesick, Broke, and Driftin’ which is the perfect place to dive into Hank III’s music. “Walkin’ With Sorrow” and “5 Shots of Whiskey” wouldn’t have sounded out of place sung by Hank Sr., while “Trashville” was one of the first anti-Nashville songs of the era. Also included is a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City,” a quintessential Americana anthem. But it was Hank III’s third album- Straight to Hell- that came to define and solidify the alternative country movement of the 2000s. Released in 20006, Straight to Hell was the first country record ever released with a parental advisory sticker on the cover. The album begins with the classic sound of the Louvin Brothers’ “Satan is Real” before Hank III takes over with the title track. Anti-Nashville setiment, classic country themes, and a heavy punk element is scattered across the album, allowing Straight to Hell to become an essential listen for the modern alt-country movement.
Hank III would go on to record the underrated Damn Right, Rebel Proud in 2008 and his last album for Curb Records Rebel Within in 2010. He would later record a few thrash metal albums while still occasionally returning to his punk-country roots. His last studio record came in 2013, and he’s largely remained quiet and off the road with no touring over the past several years. Indeed, it could be argued that the alternative country world lost much of its diversity and creative direction when Hank III went off the radar. Much like Uncle Tupelo, Hank III recorded music using a DIY, punk work ethic that influenced other bands and artists of the early to mid 2000s. Hank III’s live shows often featured two sets; the first found Hank III playing his country material before he told the audience that the next set would be hard-core, often punk metal music. Every type of fan was welcome at a Hank III show. And that’s an essential ingredient of the alt-country world. The artist knows the type of music that he or she wants to play. At the same time, however, an alt-country artist will welcome in any fan to the show who may not be familiar with any type of independent music scene. One fan tells another- and all of a sudden the artist is playing larger clubs and venues while still remaining true to an authentic set of music. Unlike mainstream country or rock, an alt-country artist isn’t beholden to simply playing the hits and phoning it in. Every song has a chance to leave an impact. And that’s what will always continue to drive the alt-country world.
If Hank III represented the intesection of country and punk metal, .357 String Band made a name for itself through a combination of straight-forward punk and bluegrass that the band named “streetgrass.”
The sound .357 String Band was striving for wasn’t necessarily revolutionary; and yet the blend of sounds the band achieved was the best that any band until then had attained. The outfit was orginally comprised of Derek Gunn on guitar and vocals, Jayke Orvis on a variety of instruments including mandolin, Rick Ness on upright bass, and Joseph Huber on banjo, fiddle, and vocals. Billy Cook would later join in 2009 to replace Orvis.
The band made a name for themselves in the Milwaukee music scene and later the entire underground country world through their high energy shows that had the attitude of a punk show but the sound of an Appalachian mountain band. Much like a Hank III show, the crowd was a blend of some fans wanting the electric attitude and others there for roots music. Musical nirvana occurred at the shows as the band picked at a blistering pace and converted mainstream country fans, rock enthusiasts, and punk admirers.
.357 String Band recorded and released three albums- Ghost Town (2006), Fire & Hail (2008), and Lightning From The North (2010)- before breaking up with each member pursuing an individual pursuit. Orvis and Huber in particular have made a big post-.357 String Band impact with Orvis joining The Goddamn Gallows and Huber distinguishing himself as one of, if not the single best, songwriter in modern music. And yet the contributions of the .357 String Band as a whole live on as well. In a piece with The Milwaukee Record, Alex Dalnodar of Dig Deep said of .357 String Band, “They were my first exposure to bluegrass and a great bridge between the stuff I was, and still am, into and that genre.” Indeed, .357 String Band, more than any other band of the early to mid 2000s, defined the ability that string-based music possesses to bring in music fans from across the spectrum. The technical skill, the attitude, the energy- .357 String Band and many artists like them welcomed in fans from other music worlds to create something special. One moment a fan is listening to .357 String Band, and the next, he or she is discovering Bill Monroe or the Stanley Brothers.
One big lesson to take away from .357 String Band and Hank III is the circuit they were touring. Americana artists enjoy a serious security blanket today; fawning profiles from publications from Rolling Stone Country and Taste of Country allow Americana artists to gain huge exposure, and the artists often find gigs opening for mainstream acts. And yet in the early to mid 2000s, alt-country and Americana artists were always working without a net. Putting it succinctly, J.D. Wilkes of The Legendary Shack Shakers told The Milwaukee Record, “We all slugged it out in rough bars for hours on end. You weren’t laying out your clothes in preperation for some Americana fest. You were trying to make a living selling beer with hillbilly music and trying not to get stabbed in the process.” Indeed.
In a just and fair music world, Whitey Morgan would be a household name. Even if he wasn’t getting mainstream radio play, the Flint, Michigan-based Morgan belongs in the independent country community upper echelon alongside Jinks, Margo, and Musgraves. And yet…he’s never been able to gain the deserved recognition that Morgan himself fought to attain for his peers.
Perhaps it can be explained rather easily. Whitey Morgan is simply too hard country for the modern Americana scene. Morgan began making a name for himself (at least beyond the Michigan scene) at a weird time between the end of Hank III’s prime and the resurgence of underground country in 2013. Morgan’s first album Honky Tonks and Cheap Motels was released in 2008 and featured Fred Newell, who had previously replaced Ralph Mooney on pedal steel behind Waylon Jennings. Yet while Whitey Morgan isn’t a typical alt-country artist necessarily, his DIY attitude in regards to the record making process draws directly from the scene. Morgan, like Hank III and .357 String Band, takes his music directly to the people, growing an audience from the ground up and aquiring a diverse group of fans. The shows are rowdy and loud, drawing equally from the honky tonks of Jones’ and Jennings’ days and the rock clubs of the late 90s and early 2000s.
It’s a theme I keep coming back to time and time again, but attitude is what distinguishes alt-country from both Americana and mainstream country music. Alternative Country isn’t stuffy, but it wants nothing to do with a perfect world. The punk attitude, first essentially defined by Uncle Tupelo, allows alt-country artists to flex their creative muscles in a manner by which they’re not constrained by the expectations of the Americana world or the rules of the mainstream country world. And that, in my opinion, is what allowed alt-country to thrive in both the 90s and the period from 2000–2013. And why, furthermore, a serious void is missing in music today. Artists feel the need to either adhere to the restrictions the modern Americana world places on its artists or play the game on Music Row by signing a deal with a major record label and giving away their creative freedom. Far too many talented artists have been handicapped by the expectations of the Americana world by turning to it while trying to escape the very restrictions he or she was unhappy with previously.
Shooter Jennings faced the above paradigm early in his career. As the son of country legend Waylon Jennings, Shooter was expected to follow the rules of Nashville and become a star. But the apple never falls too far from the tree. Who actually thought Shooter, whose Dad was the original country outlaw, was going to find himself a home on Music Row? No, Shooter Jennings soon fell in with the alt-country crowd that was rising in prominence during the first decade of the 2000s.
Shooter’s debut album, Put the “O” Back In Country, was as close to radio prominence as he would get. “4th of July” got some play on the charts, but Shooter’s experiment of trying to make it big quickly ended. He followed his debut album with Electric Rodeo (which, ironically, was recorded prior to his debut); Electric Rodeo was louder, less slick, and more in-line with what alt-country, particularily Hank III, was doing at the time. Featuring outlaw-esque country guitar and plenty of steel, Electric Rodeo fit into the alt-country scene with its guitars crunching harder and in-your-face vocals that let listeners know the direction Shooter was taking.
Shooter’s success and experimentation in the years that followed Electric Rodeo inspired plenty artists in the alt-country today, and he even introduced Dave Cobb to Sturgill Simpson. In the past couple of years, Shooter has produced Brandi Carlisle, Tanya Tucker, and current alt-country standout American Aquarium. Not surprisingly, each of the albums those aforementioned artists recorded featured some element of alt-country. Tanya Tucker’s While I’m Livin’ in particular features hard acoustic guitar with plenty of subtle statements about the human condition. Indeed, I’d go as far as comparing While I’m Livin’ to Lucinda Williams’ Car Wheels on a Gravel Road insofar as lyrical matter and attitude. Though at the moment he’s having the most success as a producer, I’d argue that the best formula for an artist at the moment is not to emulate modern Americana; rather, artists should take a page from Shooter Jennings’ book and turn to the alt-country of the 90s and early 2000s to freshen up the sound.
We took a little detour down some side roads as we explored Whitey Morgan and Shooter Jennings and their influence, but now as we return to true alt-country between 2000–2013, I think it best to discuss an artist who we can draw a direct line back to Uncle Tupelo while listening to her music.
While talking to Interview magazine in 2013, Lydia Loveless said, “My boyfriend at the time listened to Hank Williams III, and I thought that was really cool because he was singing about whatever he wanted to but it was very country.” There aren’t many better summations of alternative country in the mid 2000s than that. Loveless released her first album in 2010 and found herself frustrated with the process and the slick production. She then signed with legendary Bloodshot Records and released Indestructible Machine the next year. Indestructible Machine is exactly what someone should be looking for in a modern alt-country album. The guitars cruch. The songs get into topics not typically explored in the country world. And there’s an energy that permeates the album from start to finish. About the album, Loveless told Interview, “I think the new songs are more representative of the rock-‘n’-roll and punk that I was listening to when I was younger.”
One of the coolest things about the alt-country world is the artists understand the music they’re making and its significance. Lydia Loveless acknowledges the influence of Hank III, and she’s also self-aware of the punk influence that allows the production of her records to be a bit louder…a bit edgier. Yet she understands the blue collar ideals and DIY attitude that exists just beneath the surface.
As an aside, take a guess where Lydia Lovelss is from? Central Ohio. Another alt-country star from the Midwest. Uncle Tupelo hailed from Belleville, Illinois. The Jayhawks came from Minnesota. The .357 String Band were based in Milwaukee. The working class ethos lends itself to a punk, anti-establishment attitude- the cornerstone of alternative country. Alternative Country would not exist without the punk rock paradigm.
“And this song goes out to the scumbags, just like every song I sing/It’s just a song about the hard life we lead/Lord, outlaws and scumbags like me…”
-Hellbound Glory, “The Ballad of Scumbag Country”
No discussion of alternative country from 2000 to 2013 is complete without the mention of Hellbound Glory, a band fronted by Leroy Virgil and based in Reno, Nevada. Though Hellbound Glory lean a little more outlaw, hard country than alt-country, Virgil’s attitude puts the band’s music firmly in alt-country territory. With the background of Reno playing a huge role in the band’s songs, Hellbound Glory were always bound to be singing about the blue collar life with an anti-establishment attitude.
Virgil’s songs take just a little more joy about the bottle than songs like Uncle Tupelo’s “Whiskey Bottle,” but it’s still authentic. In an interview with Outlaw Radio Chicago back in 2010 (transcribed by the excellent and highly influential Kyle Coroneos, founder of Saving Country Music), Virgil said, “We get a lot of comparisons to Hank Williams III because of the lyrical content, but to be honest with you I’ve been writing about drugs and booze since I was 16 because drugs and booze have always taken a pretty big part of my life.”
Since then, Virgil’s lyrics have grown in depth and maturity, but that “scumbag” mentality lives on through live shows and the understanding that many alt-country artists are aware of their past and subsequent growth.
So what happened? Where did the hard-rocking, punk-attitude, hard-hitting alternative country go? How was it replaced by a stuffy Americana in which one of the biggest Americana stars wants nothing to do with the community and would prefer to be called a country artist?
There are a couple ways of looking at it. First, Hank III went radio silent. He was the biggest alt-country star from 2000–2013, and just stopped making new music. The loss of Hank III as a consistent recording artist left a huge void in the community. I don’t want to go as far as saying Hank III was irreplaceable. And yet, part of me feels that way. There have been plenty of artists since who have made some better music. But the lineage. The outspokeness. The activism for traditional country music while still attracting fans of music other than country. That’s something that can’t be replaced.
Secondly, the reality of making music in the mid to late 2010s has completely changed. Social media. Streaming. The price of a concert ticket. So many variables that have come together to create a perfect storm in which an alt-country artist finds hard to sail out of. Choosing either Americana or mainstream Nashville is a safety net. Or it at least provides some security to start a career and make a name. Artists like The .357 String Band or Whitey Morgan simply would find it much harder today to create a grassroots fanbase compared to the early 2000s. Clubs and smaller venues are shutting down across the country, and it seems as though there’s a lot less room for crossover between the punk and country scenes than there once was.
Social media, in my opinion, has had a massive effect. Way too many fans and critics rely on the opinion of the masses to discover new artists. It’s an echo chamber. Rather than venturing to a small show in a seedy part of town, Americana hipsters turn their nose up at both the mainstream Nashville world and alt-country artists who don’t conform to their vision of coffee shop Americana. It’s a dangerous attitude and not something conducive to creativity and artistic integrity.
In 2005, for instance, an Americana world didn’t exist as it does today. Sure, there were artists who bound together to call themselves as such. But there wasn’t a huge presence. Individuality allowed artists to make their own sound and fight their own personal battles; we could do with more artists today wanting to be individuals.
Alternative country has lived two true lives at this point. The first, and at its best, was during the early to mid 2000s when Uncle Tupelo was at its peak and Son Volt and Wilco and then Whiskeytown, Lucinda Williams, and Old 97s followed. The second came from 2000 to 2013 when Hank III, The .357 String Band, and Lydia Loveless established themselves as the standard bearers of the intersection between country music and punk rock.
Where will the third life come from? That remains to be seen. Most likely, there’s someone right now listening to an Uncle Tupelo record for the first time and then setting out to find the orginal version of “No Depression” by The Carter Family and then streaming an R.E.M. record. The alternative country dream, huh?
