I’m Tony, and these are my June 2011 picks…

Cattletruck–Gallows Humor

Coy Beck, Jr. Band–Bite The Bullet

Coy Beck, Jr. Band is from China Grove, N. Carolina, playing Country & Country Rock Music. Coy has been singing professionally since 1978, has been in several bands, and done studio work with The Marshall Tucker Band. He’s also been the opening act for The Marshall Tucker Band, The Allman Brothers, Razzy Bailey, The Outlaws, Mel McDaniel, & Merle Haggard, among others.  Now, he’s in China Grove, armed with an arsenal of original music, and backed up by 2 old friends, David Dellinger on steel guitar and Tim Goodman on bass. His manager Duane “Big D” Ezell, has sent me 8 of Coy’s songs, and will be sending me 3 more as soon as they’re done, so we’ll have a preview of Coy’s upcoming cd “Bite The Bullet”, from which I’ve chosen the title track as his contest entry this month. I’m sure everyone remembers his 1st place win last month with another song from that cd “Younger Days”. We also have an interview with Coy from last month on the site, if you want to check that out. For more info on Coy Beck, Jr. Band, go to his ReverbNation page, www.reverbnation.com/coybeckjr…

Crimson Storm–Darkest Of Rain

Crimson Storm is from Phoenix, Arizona, playing Rock Music. They’re a 4-man band, consisting of Paul Ames on lead vocals, Vance Winston on lead guitar, Ray Duncan on bass, and Chris Herman on drums. On their R.N. page, they say they were formed in the early months of 2000, with the birth of the new millenium, and they’re a band on a mission. They say “Good luck putting your finger on us, putting us in a genre, in a certain style or category. Let us know how that turns out. Crimson Storm is more than just a band. It’s a family, a message. It’s a light shining into the darkness. It’s a living, breathing entity. There is a storm coming. Can you feel it? Can you hear the sound of thunder in the distance? The sound of the raindrops beginning to splash at your feet. How strange. The rain is red as blood…” The band has 7 songs up for sale in their R.N. store, 5 Rock songs, and 2 C/W songs from Ray, their bass player. I’ve added all of them to the rotation of my show on HTB, and I chose their song “Darkest Of Rain” as their June contest entry. (I’ll have 1 of Ray’s songs in my picks for July.) For more info on Crimson Storm, visit their ReverbNation page, www.reverbnation.com/CRIMSONSTORM…

DunVille–Rollin’

DunVille is from Katy, Texas, playing Texas Country, Country Rock & Americana Music. They’re a 4-man band, consisting of DJ Troville on lead vocals, Robert Crews on lead guitar, Dan Froelich on drums, & Robert Miller on bass. Their R.N. page says “DunVille comes at you with an in-your-face, gritty, southern sound that is sure to catch your attention. They have 1 self-titled cd available in their R.N. store, which I’ve already added to the rotation of my HTB show. From it I chose the song “Rollin’” as their June contest entry. Listen to the lyrics and you’ll know why. For more info on DunVille, visit their Reverbnation page, www.reverbnation.com/dunville…

James Lann–Wildfire

James Lann is from Hitchcock, Texas, playing Country, 2-Step, & Texas Music. James is a 5th generation cowboy, “who traded in his saddle and rope for a guitar and a song”. James has 2 cds to his credit, his 1st “F-O-R-D” in 2008, had 2 songs that made it to the top of the Texas Country Music charts, “You’re From The Country, Too” & “Honky Tonk 2-Step Queen”. Now, he’s come out with his 2nd cd “Honky Tonk Kung Fu”, which he says was the culmination of his last year on the road, “living the dream”. I chose his cover of the song “Wildfire”, with Jason Allen, as his June contest entry, because it’s always been one of my favorite songs. For more info on Jason Allen, visit his R.N. page, www.reverbnation.com/jameslann…

Jason Sain & The Foolhearted–Down & Out In Dallas

Jason Sain & The Foolhearted are from Wyandotte, Oklahoma, playing Country & Indie Music. They’re a 5-man band, consisting of Jason Sain on vocals, guitar & harmonica, Heavy T on mandolin, Kris Snow on resonator, Ryan Comer on upright bass, & “Cowboy” Colter Starrett on guitjo. Originally from Oklahoma, Jason Sain & his group now hail from Branson, Missourri. They’ve just come out with their debut cd “Dames, Trains & Tall Texas Tales”, which is available through their R.N. store, and which I added to the rotation of my show here on HTB, while choosing the song “Down & Out In Dallas” as their June contest entry. Their sound has been described as “if ol’ Hank got together with Bob Wills and Bill Monroe for some bar-b-que and a lazy back-porch picking session!”  For more info on Jason Sain & The Foolhearted, visit their R.N. page, www.reverbnation.com/jasonsainthefoolhearted…

JoCaine–Hillbilly Chick

JoCaine is from Harrison Township, Michigan, playing Country & Southern Rock Music. They’re a 7-member group that I don’t know that much about. I know that, according to their R.N. page, at the intersection of Interstate 75 and 9 Mile Road, you will find Hazel Park, Michigan, lovingly dubbed “Hazeltucky” by it’s residents. That is where JoCaine “forges Southern Rock with Yankee pride”. They have several cds out, with a number of songs that have parental advisory warnings attached. They have landed songs in the soundtracks of several movies, Lone Star State Of Mind, Laurel Canyon, The Last Run, and 1 TV series, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on CBS. JoCaine has been the opening act for Unkle Kracker, Kid Rock, David Allan Coe, SheDaisy, Little Big Town, & Kenny Chesney, among others. I chose the live song “Hillbilly Chick” off their “American Made” cd as their contest entry this month. (I also added that cd to the rotation of my HTB show.) For more info on JoCaine, visit their R.N. page, www.reverbnation.com/jocaine…

Grimm Jack–Maybelline

Grimm Jack is from New York City, New York, playing Rock, Classic Rock, & Hard Rock Music. They’re a 5-man group, consisting of Billy Kohout on lead vocals and lead guitar, along with Jimmy “Mack” Makowski, Tom “Lestat” Collier, David Leeds, & G.G. Zen-Garten. Grimm Jack has been considered one of America’s best underdog rock & roll bands for the last 25 years. They’ve been compared to Aerosmith, with a southern, bluesy, flavor. They developed a legion of loyal fans and were considered a hot item during the late ’80’s and early ’90’s, signing a record deal with independent label CYN City Records. After Nirvana came on the music scene, Grimm Jack kind of faded away, but, in 2010, they started to make a major comeback after a 15 year hiatus, releasing a cd full of material that was previously unavailable on compact disc. I’ve added that cd to the rotation of my show here on HTB, while choosing their hit song “Maybelline” as their contest entry this month. A new, greatest hits cd is set to come out this year, and they’re also scheduled to go out on tour. For more info on Grimm Jack, visit their R.N. page, www.reverbnation.com/grimmjack…

Katie Thompson–Impossible

Katie Thompson is from the West Coast, the West Coast of New Zealand, that is, playing Country, Acoustic & Pop Music. I’ve had her in this contest before, with the song  ”Good As Gold”, and she, and the group Hester, were the only picks of mine that made it into the top 10 that particular month. I’ve brought her back this month with the title track of her cd “Impossible”. I’ve also added that cd to the rotation of my show on HTB. When I told Katie about my choice, she thought it was great and wanted me to tell people to go to her website to find out how they can upload photos to become part of the music video for her song “Impossible”. That website address is www.katiethompson.co.nz/. For more info on Katie, or to buy some of her music, visit her R.N. page, www.reverbnation.com/katiethompsonz….

Kevin Castator Band–I Remain The Same

Kevin Castator Band is from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, playing Rock, Alternative Folk, & Trucker Rock Music. Kevin was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to a family with maritime roots and a love of music. He started playing music at a young age, but, after getting married, began a 37-year-long career as a long-haul truck driver. He took his flat-top guitar along with him, though, and jammed out in truck stops and watering holes all over the U.S. and Canada. Kevin has a couple of songs for sale in his R.N. store, and I chose the song “I Remain The Same” as his contest entry this month. He also has 4 songs available for free download on his page. For more info on Kevin Castator, visit his R.N. page, www.reverbnation.com/kevincastatorband…

Midnight Stone–A Shade Of Lonely

Midnight Stone is from Indianapolis, Indiana, playing Country, Country Rock & Classic Rock Music. Midnight Stone is the duo of Guy and Jane, who we have an interview with on HTB, because they made the top 5 one month with their song “Rollin’ Down The Highway”. They have no information about themselves on their R.N. page, but they do have a number of songs up you can listen to, including “Rollin’…” and a new song they just sent me called “A Shade Of Lonely”, which I decided to pick as their contest entry this month. Over the past year, or so, they’ve sent 7 of their songs to me to add to the rotation of my show here on HossTheBoss.com, but they don’t have a cd out, yet. To hear more of their music, visit their R.N. page, www.reverbnation.com/midnightstone…

Rooster–Cigarette Sue

Southern Fryde Inc–Southern Songbird

Southern Fryde Inc is from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, playing Rock, Southern Rock, Outlaw, Country, & Alternative Country Music. They’re a 6-man group, consisting of Ddroid on vocals, Dave Allan on guitar, Stu Brandon on vocals & guitar, Cruz on bass, Big Daddy Roy on keyboards & vocals, and JP Esser on drums. They’re a group of long-time friends who’ve been playing together, and individually, for the past 25 years. Dave sent me their entire “Deep Fryde” cd by e-mail to add to the rotation of my show, and this is the 3rd month I’ve picked them for the contest. Last month, they almost made the top 5 with the song “Here’s To Hugh”, but ended up in 6th place, instead. I am determined to see them in the finals in December, so they’re back this month with “Southern Songbird”. I hope ya’ll give it the votes it deserves. Their “Deep Fryde” cd is due out any minute now, so keep checking their R.N. page to find out where you can get your copy of it. For more info on Southern Fryde Inc, visit their R.N. page, www.reverbnation.com/southernfrydeinc…

About Me:

I got started in broadcasting during my stint as a Signalman in the U.S. Navy during the Viet Nam era, working part-time as a DJ and newsman for a ship-board Armed Forces Radio & TV station on the USS Truckee out of Norfolk, Virginia.  After being honorably discharged in 1979, I became a mainstream radio DJ and News Director in the Corpus Christi area for over 25 years on 9 different stations, including all 3 of the country-western ones. During that time I received 4 news broadcasting awards, 1 from the Associated Press & 3 from United Press International. I spent the last 5 years of my “career” on KFTX in Corpus Christi, constantly fighting with the program director over having to play their narrow top-ten Nashville music playlist of songs, when I really wanted to play Texas Music. I was finally shown the door after I played a Christmas-time phone request for Robert Earl Keen’s “Merry Christmas From The Family”, which was definitely not on the station’s playlist, (I really hate that word!). Now that I’m on HossTheBoss I can play what I want. Listen to my own dang show on the station every Sunday night at 7 p.m. Central.

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My previous Hossey Music Award Picks

November 2008 | December 2008 | January 2009 | February 2009 | April 2009 | May 2009 | June 2009 | July 2009 | August 2009 | September 2009 | October 2009 | November 2009 | January 2010 | February 2010 | March 2010 | April 2010 | May 2010 | June 2010 | July 2010 | August 2010 | September 2010 | November 2010 | January 2011 | February 2011 | March 2011 | April 2011 | May 2011