The Hotshot Freight Train

The Hotshot Freight Train
(Image from their MySpace page)

So here I sat, in my favorite chair, recovering from airports, Louisiana, and Mississippi, and psyching up for Wise, Abingdon, Emory, Blacksburg, and Radford, when in walks Zac (he doesn't really believe in knocking). A witty conversation naturally ensues, I make fun of him, he returns the favor, we discuss sports uniforms, paintings, and our trivia team (all true, I'm afraid), and then he turns to roll out. Then, right before he walks out the door, he says wait, I want you to check out this band - they're awesome, they're from Knoxville, and they have this kick@$% song called "Appalachia." Well, you know me, I'm a sucker for that sorta' lead-in. So I type (clickity-clack) and pull up their MySpace page - which, coincidently, is right here . . . and, yeah, they pretty much rock. If you like rock and roll of a bluegrass - gospel infusion that really screams of its intellectual underpinnings and cultural complexity of the modern Appalachian music-scape, well, you'll probably be an instant convert to the madness that is The Hotshot Freight Train - that's right, that's their name - you're already predisposed to like'm, ain't you?

Now, I couldn't find a true homepage that was active, but I did find a couple of other links for you - specifically the Knoxville News Sentinel's page on 'm (which includes a downloadable mp3) and this description:

While the music is distinct and perhaps a personal best for the individuals in the lineup, which has been a constant for well over a year, it often draws comparisons to national acts such as And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead and Afghan Whigs, but much of this can be attributed to the throaty vocals of Tipton combined with the dark, but not-yet-overdone, feel of his musical backdrop.

Also, dig on this article by Steve Wildsmith (good name, by the way) in The Daily Times.

Oh, and their next show is in Knoxville this evening, at 8PM, if you're interested, at the Longbranch Saloon on the Strip (Cumberland Avenue), near campus. Should be a doozy.

Support local music. (I'm planning on ordering the CD, stat, myself. Dammit.)