Some casually rendered yet solid wisdom from the front porch of the Gourds:
Those that know don’t close the door on those that don’t know
If ya been t’ college, ya got some special knowledge
Ya can share it with some children or some old folks too Go ahead and share it, with all the people That’s the best thing that you can do.
If you a mama, ya teach yer children How to walk and talk, how to read and write It’s fundamental, but ya must be gentle You don’t wanna teach ’em up to fuss and fight
Those that have should not hide what they have from those that don’t have
Those that need should not seek to succeed in the stealing the seeds
If you need some help, just ask for help You can’t know everything all the time Just ask somebody, they should be willing Address the ignorance and lose the pride
Austin, Texas-based Alternative Country band the Gourds have been making lively, kooky shit-kicking southern roots rock since the mid-1990’s. So it’s kind of a shame that when you type in the band’s name on Amazon.com the first song title that comes up is “Gin and Juice”. Yeah, their top download is still a novelty bluegrass cover of Snoop Dogg. Maybe that’s why they haven’t found greater acceptance, in fact. If that’s your first exposure–even if you like the Snoop cover–it doesn’t exactly help you to take the band seriously. (This should be called “Stacy’s Mom Syndrome”.)
But seriously taken be should they by you, as Yoda would say (or whatever, I’m more of a Star Trek guy) because the combination of skilled songcraft and whiff of authenticity in their music is rarely matched in the genre in the post-Skynyrd era. (Please don’t tell the surviving, still-touring members of Lynyrd Skynyrd I said this is the “post-Skynyrd era”.) Only Steve Earle comes to mind for comparison, and he’s a different cat. These guys seem to be mainly out to have fun. A solid guitar-and-keyboard sound is supplemented with mandolin, bouncy accordion, and occasional horns to make it sound a little like a danceable version of The Band. With better vocals. And a couple ballads here are simply gorgeous, especially “Promenade”. This album ought to appeal to at least three types of people:
1) Skynyrd fans with triple-digit IQs (hmm, what’s that? yes there are)
2) Fans of The Band who can’t find bands today with a remotely similar sound, and
3) Anyone who likes to listen to Rock bands who don’t sound like every other Rock band.
Every Moment Has A Song 