Straight off your TV screens...

There’s this new TV show that debuted on Fox last night. It’s called “The Next Great American Band,” and is an “American Idol”-type thing, where bands compete for a recording contract or something. I’ve been seeing the advertisements for a few weeks, but couldn’t really see a reason I needed to watch any more of music’s homogenization process.

Turns out I may have been wrong about the show. At least for now. I put it on last night while I was eating dinner (I don’t like to dine alone) and I was somewhat surprised by the variety of bands. I saw Detroit rockers The Muggs, who apparently have an established fan base and are looking to break nationally. I saw a pack of 14-year-olds play the hell out of some Iron Maiden. And I saw a bass player who has no arms.

I didn’t watch the entire two hours, or however long it was, but I will probably tune in again. Here’s the reason. I saw a bluegrass trio last night that absolutely blew me away. I’m going to be pulling for The Clark Brothers to go all the way. These three got up on that stage and just tore it up.

I couldn’t find much information about these guys. They said on the show they come from a family of 11 siblings and, if I remember, their dad is a musician. There’s not much on their MySpace space, other than to tell me they are from Nashville, Tenn.; Adam plays the mandolin and guitar; Ashley sings, and plays the guitar and fiddle; and Austin plays the dobro and sings. Austin and Ashley have also appeared with Carrie Underwood at the Country Music Awards, so they have some talented and successful fans.

The song I’m posting, “This Little Light Final” is the full version of what they played on “The Next Great American Band.” It’s on their MySpace – these guys don’t have a recording contract yet.

This Little Light Final.mp3

Labels: bluegrass, new stuff, TV, unplugged

posted by aikin @ 9:00 AM