Lonesome Shack ::: photo by Hamilton Boyce Why do some kites fly while others never really get off the ground? Why do you always spill coffee on your white dress shirts but never your black ones? Why is it that you always get a flat tire when you're on the way to a place you REALLY need to [...]

@ Facebook // Online // Twitter // Reverbnation // iTunes // Amazon Here's a great full set by Portland's Hillstomp recorded by my old pal Jeff Tomas (sound man/Bass player/guitar tech/roadie extraordinaire) from their set at Moscow, Idaho 's John's Alley April 14th 2011. As Jeff says, "the vocals are a little low at first, as my first concern is the house mix, [...]
MISSISSIPPI TRANCE-BLUES-STOMP DUO, HILLSTOMP HITS THE ROAD TO TOUR IN SUPPORT OF BRAND NEW FULL-LENGTH, "DARKER THE NIGHT" Portland, Oregon-based duo Hillstomp continue to tour in support of their brand new, third full-length, "Darker The Night" (In Music We Trust Records), with more dates to be announced soon (confirmed dates shown below). Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Henry Kammerer and drummer/percussionist John Johnson, the duo draw heavily from north Mississippi trance blues, a bit from the hills of Appalachia, and then use the energy of punkabilly, to create a raucous hill-country-blues-stomp with a fiery youth and vigor. It [...]

One man. Scraggly hair. An old guitar that barely stays in tune. Goggles on his head. Another man behind a drum set made of brake drums, 5 gallon buckets, cracked cymbals and a washboard hanging from his neck. See them separately and you're forming your "I can't give you any money" excuse. See them together and you're looking for the hat to drop your hard earned money into as your ass tries to shakes itself free of you. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Portland, Oregon's own Hillstomp. Hillstomp is Deep Blues [...]

Sometimes in life you have a pretty good idea of what you're getting into. Hit the local $5.99 all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet for lunch today, and there's a pretty good chance you're going to end up with a long painful afternoon of gastrointestinal distress. Check out Hillstomp on their current tour with Reverend Horton Heat and Split Lip Rayfield, and you might end up with near the same from overindulgence on greasy gutshot blues and cheap beer. Now, don't go jumping to conclusions. Hillstomp ain't some Johnny-come-lately trust fund kids milking the blues schtick before [...]
Sheryl Crow goes to Memphis and Dan Wilson opens his own show... Sheryl Crow - Dan Wilson - Memphis Tennessee - United States - Music

We're going to keep the tempo up today, so following the start given to us by the frenzy of the Ten Kens earlier, we can now offer you Cardiac Arrest In D from Hillstomp . And if the title of the song doesn't tell you all you want to know, they go on to describe themselves as Mississippi trance blues, a bit from the hills of Appalachia, with the energy of punkabilly, creating a raucous hill-country-blues-stomp with a fiery youth and vigor that comes clanging and tumbling out of an assortment of vintage [...]
With a tongue-in-cheek attitude and a sound that would be equally welcomed in American mountains and bayous alike, it's no wonder Portland, OR duo Hillstomp are hitting the road in support of psychobilly masters The Reverend Horton Heat. The band's new album Darker the Night is its third and will hit streets on July 20th. If you are a fan of banjo-plucking then this album is tailor made for you

Hillstomp is a punk blues duo from Portland, Oregon, known for unique versions of traditional material and energetic live performances. Judge for yourself After Two But Before Five Traditional

Saturday at Pickathon was dominated by some stellar performances on the Woods Stage, starting off with the painfully adorable Laura Gibson . The woods provided a cool respite after a brutally hot day, and were a welcome solace for weary festivalgoers. Gibson is the quintessential Oregonian musician. The daughter of a logger and a kindergarten teacher, she grew up in rural Oregon, fostering a love of music at a young age. Her brand of folk floats through the air on the wings of a delicate voice and some killer arrangement and song writing. [...]
When measured against the summer festival juggernauts (i.e., Bonnaroo, Lollapolooza, Outside Lands, Austin City Limits), Pickathon may appear unassuming in comparison. But, as William Shakespeare once said: "Though she be but little, she is fierce" (ol' Bill said that, right?). For Pickathon, roots music rules all, and the festival planners have picked some truly excellent acts to represent the time-honored genre. More festival details, lineup, and a whole bunch of MP3s after the jump. The 2009 Pickathon Festival is set to take place July 31st - August 2nd at [...]

Hypnotic two-man guitar-and-drums electric blues This Northwest duo could be loosely lumped in with a half-dozen other bands playing blues as a duet of guitar and drums, but where minimalists like the Black Keys, Soledad Brothers and Radio Moscow are driving, Hillstomp is more droning. Even when they increase the beat to a toe-tapping (or hillstomping) tempo, their music remains more hypnotic than frenzied. Guitarist Henry Kammerer plays both straight six and slide guitars and vocalizes through distortion that sounds enough like a cheap microphone (which it may very well be) to give this [...]

Last Friday I announced the line-up of bands for this years Deep Blues Festival . Earlier this week I bought my plane tickets for Minneapolis. I tell you that so you don't think I am just pimping the festival for some nefarious reason. I buy a ticket just like everyone else. That said, I really do believe in DBF, in what Chis is doing and in the bands playing it so I will take every opportunity to pimp it. Hence Deep Blues Fridays. On select Fridays between now and the festival I will feature [...]
Portland Oregon's Hillstomp will play The Deep Blues Festival Saturday July 19th. They are scheduled to play between Pearlene and Buffalo Killers. I feel sorry for 'em. Pearlene and Buffalo Killers that is. As I wrote before it rained like hell at the last DBF. We got pounded some freak storm and I was damn surprised we didnt get pummeled by hail. But for one brief moment during Hillstomp's set the sun came out. I don't know how they did it. All I can figure is That Which Cannot Be Imagined must have felt the joy in the people dancing [...]

Imagine spending the better part of a year planning. Shelling out tons of money over said year. All to bring the best of the punkass-blues scene together for a weekend somewhere in Wisconsin. Only to have record rains show up; on your weekend . Attendance falls well below what you expected and you lose a lot of your own money. What do you do? Chris Johnson will tell you- you make that muthafucker even bigger the next year...and that's just what he's done...2 days become 3 and the Deep Blues Festival of 2007 blossoms into the [...]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the genre that is the Blues is a genre that, while great when heard on studio recordings, is something that is best heard live. As the title of Hillstomp's latest effort would suggest, it is also best heard after two but before five...in the morning, that is. As I said the last time I wrote about Hillstomp , " Boogie Woogie blues make you hafta dance. Hillstomp is Boogie Woogie Blues. " The live disc makes makes no exception to those statements. Recorded over two [...]
If you're like me, you are not at Lollapalooza right now. For those in my camp, enjoy the end of Shark Week ! Here's the stuff we talked about: Kings of Leon - McFearless Thelonious Monk - Everything happens to Me Okkervil River - Our Life is Not a Movie Okkervil River - No Key No Plan Okkervil River - For Real Okkervil [...]

Boogie Woogie Blues, like the term, is fun. Boogie Woogie. Shit, the term makes me smile. Say Boogie Woogie fast 5 times....now tell me you ain't smilin'. If you do I'ma call you a damn liar. Boogie Woogie is fun to say. Boogie Woogie blues is fun to hear. Boogie Woogie blues make you hafta dance. Hillstomp is Boogie Woogie Blues. They remind me of a more light-hearted version of Shake Hands With Shorty era North Mississippi Allstars , back before the Dickinson boys started getting too serious. Hillstomp makes you wanna dance. My dog [...]