You can hear samples of the tracks from Whiskey Preachin Vol.1 before you buy. Click the links below.

Sleeve Notes

You hold in your hands the first Whiskey Preachin compilation, volume one in a series that aims to define the music we like to describe as outlaw boogie and gumbo rock. Twenty first century honky tonk for the outlaw dance floor, all twelve of these songs are from artists that epitomise the spirit of Whiskey Preachin. At times raucous, often irreverent, frequently dissolute, occasionally world-weary and generally badass, one spin of this record will convince you that these guys are the real deal. Proud of their country roots and sharing influences from across the spectrum of American music, these artists are thoroughly modern while keeping the tradition. Don’t be surprised to find a punk rock attitude mixed with a western swing and a honky tonk heart. It may have some Cajun spice or have been brushed by bluegrass, but one thing is for sure, this is music that gets the blood pumping, the boots scooting and the bourbon flowing.

Seven years ago, I woke from a dream with the name Whiskey Preachin in my head. I’d been planing a night playing my favourite records, honky tonk, Southern rock and country funk, to the intoxicated crowd at my local whiskey bar. It didn’t take long for the name to become the night, and with the help of Chris Sick’s excellent poster work, Whiskey Preachin was realised. With the addition of Señor Mick behind the turntables, WP went from strength to strength, soon evolving into a radio show and then a website. We found ourselves being booked to play records at festivals, and then the opportunity to start Whiskey Preachin Records arose. This latest development had always been a dream, and it would have stayed a dream if it were not for the belief and passion of Reinhard Holstein, the fourth member of the Whiskey Preachin team. 

Now you know who is taking you on this trip, let’s get this show on the road. We start down in Austin, the spiritual home of the outlaw movement, the town where hippies and cowboys first started to realise that maybe they had something in common after all. We’re riding into town with guns blazing, so better lock up your daughters, as Mayeux and Broussard are intent on mischief. Taken from their Hot in Tejas EP, Kool and Handsome kicks up the dust and spits in your eye by way of welcome. Next up we have James Scott Bullard, telling of the various ways women have chosen to exit his life; it has to be Jesus, Jail or Texas, from his album Full Tilt Boogie, a track I’ve needed on vinyl since the first time I heard it. Back in Austin next, and Kathryn Legendre is Going Crazy, as she updates her classic country styling for the 21st century jukebox. This is modern honky tonk that’s tells it like it is. Then we’re off to Dallas to catch up with Eleven Hundred Springs. From their album The Finer Things in Life, Acadian Thruway has Matt Hillyer reporting on how a traffic jam can be turned into a hoedown. You need this song in your life.

The Rhyolite Sound hail from Las Vagas. Named after the volcanic rock, Rhyolite is a small ghost town just outside Death Valley, the site of Nevada’s last major gold strike. Now, The Rhyolite Sound have struck Nevada gold again with their rocked-up desert honky tonk sound. From their second album, Mojave Gold, here is their gear-jamming version of the Dire Straits classic, Setting Me Up, the original of which I have been playing at WP since the beginning. Some things are just meant to be. We end side A with Rat City Bound, a rollocking joyride of a tune from Darci Carlson. Before she won 2017’s Ameripolitan award for Outlaw Female, Darci had been one half of Seattle’s kickass country duo, The Dolly Rottens. When she’s not out raising hell, she keeps the whiskey flowing, and was once voted Seattle’s favourite bar person. What’s not to love? In case you were wondering, Rat City is the nickname for a town near Seattle, the name derived from a military acronym for a World War Two training camp.

Side B sees us heading down to Shreveport, home of the Louisiana Hayride, to catch up with Ole Whiskey Revival. Ramblin’ is full of swagger and sway, classic bourbon-drenched Southern rock as it should still sound today, gritty and real. We will be hearing a lot more from this band in the near future, so turn it up. The Reeves Brothers, Matt and Cole, hail from Arkansas, although they currently call Nevada home. The band took home the 2018 Ameripolitan award for Best Honky Tonk Group, and their version of the Merle Haggard-penned CC Waterback demonstrates why. The original version of the song was sung by Merle and George Jones, having been written by Haggard after a night on the sauce at George’s place. CC Waterback is the name they gave to George’s hangover cure, a shot of Canadian Club with a water chaser. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Kristina Murray came to Nashville via Colorado, where she released her debut album. Lovers and Liars is from her second album, Southern Ambrosia, which sees Murray fusing her love of classic country and Southern rock. If you find yourself in East Nashville at the start of the week, head down to Honky-Tonk Tuesdays, Kristina may well be on the stage.

Get Off the Grid sees us heading west for the blue-sky freedom of California. Ted Russell Kamp is a cornerstone of LA’s independent music scene, working with a who’s who of West Coast country artists. Since 2001 he has held down bass duties for Shooter Jennings, but here we have a fine example of Kamp doing it his way. Back to the dance halls of Austin now, where Weldon Henson fills the hardwood floors with Texas two-steppers. Taken from his album Texas Made Honky Tonk, Weldon tears the roof off the barn with Sleep All Day. We stay in Austin for our parting shot from Croy and the Boys. (If I Knew What I’d Have To give Up) I’d Never Have Fallen In Love tells us where we’ve been and leave us with the sense that there is hope for all of us in this unforgiving world. Amen to that.

From the very start, Whiskey Preachin has given me the excuse I needed to roll back my musical horizons as far as my ears could hear. I hope you get as much satisfaction from listening to this record as I have from compiling it. It is a pleasure and a privilege to be able to share this wonderful music with you. So, pour yourself a few fingers of your favourite libation, roll up the rug, turn up the stereo and drop the needle, baby. We’re gonna shake the shack tonight!

Shamblin Sexton – November 2019