These are all the songs I’ve chosen for this month’s contest. I know thousands of independent musicians who are deserving of having their songs in this dang deal. So narrowing my picks down to just a few is always the hardest part of my month. Oh well. Such is life.

Bottle Shock – TV Preacher

Bottleshock is an laid-back, interesting, eclectic little band out in the wine-makin’ country of California that formed a few years back when Bob Appleby just started gettin’ his buddies together for a little Monday Night Music Group. The band first was on our show in July when guest DJ Cat McClean made the song “Under The Radar” one of her picks for the month. That song made it into the Top 10, and, until Turd Ferguson came through with his little masterpiece, I had thoughts of making it the opening theme song for the show. (And I still might do that some day. It certainly fits with what we do on this stupid show.) I like everything that Bob has sent me from this dang little band, and so I hope you’ll vote for this truthful little diddy this month, dang it!

Devin Rehm -Salvation Army

Devin is one of the great, but under-Internetted, musicians who have had trouble getting votes in this dang contest because they just don’t have and/or don’t care to have a huge fan base of crazed facebookers and tweeters begging people to come vote. As proof that I actually kind of admire people who don’t worry too much about their “online presence,” I’m bringing back a bunch of these people in this month’s show.  So… I hope ya’ll will actually vote for Devin this time, dang it. This song is the title track off a CD that Devin started some time ago but never finished. You can find out more about him and his cool little band  out of Canada at http://www.reverbnation.com/orilliajunction. He also says he has some free downloads available at www.soundcloud.com.(So he is into the internet at least a little bit, it seems. A small, healthy dose is a good thing, I say.)

Dorothy Guin – Her Hearts in Waiting

Dorothy is yet another HossTheBoss.com pick from Memphis. (No word yet on whether she is acquainted with Nancy Apple, Barbara Blue, Bryan Hayes and some of the other cool  Memphis peeps that we’ve had on the show over the years, but I’m betting she is. ) Dorothy has been doin’ the singin’ and songwritin’ thing around Memphis for quite some time, and now she’s finally got herself a full-fledge “blues and more” band together that is seekin’ gigs. So, check her out airplaydirect.com/music/dorothysguinn/ and www.tunecore.com/music/dorothyguinn-blueschick1 and vote for her powerful little ole’ song in this month’s contest, dang it!

KBCB (Kentucky Blue Collar Band) – Do It Later

These guys need no introduction to fans of HTB. Goble Cantrel,  Marc Currens, Mark Rohan and the rest of this cool little bunch have been friends of the show for quite some time, and they’ve had their share of success on the show. This is yet another new recording that these guys are flyin’ up the flag pole these days, and, as always, I like their style.Check these guys out at kentuckybluecollarband.com.

Keith Whitton – One to Run

Keith is another of those guys that you dang voters didn’t pay enough dang attention to in previous editions of this contest (well, last month, to be exact).  I can’t believe ya’ll let his song “Heart of Silver” get knocked out after the first round of cut-offs last time, dang it! So here’s your chance to redeem yourselves. This guy and his friends up there in Nacagdoches, Texas are doing some great stuff that you people need to be hearin’, dang it! www.reverbnation.com/keithwhittonband. It does my heart some good  to hear these rag-tag lookin’ (in otherwords, cool), somewhat studly, young musicians in East Texas are still havin’ fun and doing some great things with the bluegrass sound!

Mark Anderson – Cat House

Mark has been trying to get me to put his dang music on this show ever since we had his two friends Jimmy Z and Mickey Thomas in the contest earlier this summer.  So, better late than never! This guy’s music is as solid as it gets. And, judging by all the company he’s been keepin’ over the years, I’m guessin’ he’ll be a great interview come Interview Week time. Ya’ll make sure he’s in the Top 10 by then, dang it! In the meantime check him out at http://www.reverbnation.com/marksigmundanderson and/or www.americanvikingmarkanderson.com. Oh yeah…  that’s Jimmy Z on the harp in this track, too!

Michael Parrish – Dead Balloons

This is not THE Mike Parrish of Parrish-Hundley fame (the guy from Liberty, Texas who was our runner-up in the 2009 edition of this contest and who has been a guest DJ in earlier months, too). No, this Michael Parrish is always careful to make sure that people on HTB know that he is Georgia Mike Parrish. Georgia Mike is not a singer, per se, but he’s a heck of a lyricist, and so he’s made a recent practice of finding other people — somtimes his son Griff — to sing his great songs. This is his latest creation, and, wow, these lyrics are as powerful as they get. I’m not sure who the singer is that Michael found to do this piece, but he ain’t too shabby either. (That’s just one of the things we’ll make sure we get out of Mike when we get him on the show for Interview Week — assuming ya’ll put him in the Top 10 by then, dang it!)

Peter Rivera – Ma

Fans of the great band Rare Earth may remember this guy Peter Rivera. Yes, that’s him. This is off Pete’s new “unplugged” CD that features new versions of some of Rare Earth’s classic — and more.  Check it all out at www.peterrivera.com (Pete is yet another buddy of former guest DJ Chuck Compton. Man, Chuck sure did get a lot of mileage out of that bellhop job at the Miami Beach hotel back in the ‘70 when he met up with a BUNCH of music biz people that still call him a friend today. And we’ve been ridin’ Chuck’s connections a long way on this station, too. Mickey Thomas, Jimmy Z, Rick Derringer, and the list goes on…. Peter Rivera is just the latest of all these GREAT people to give us much more than the dang time of day on this show!

Racing Gravity – Break My Heart

This very solid bunch of Christian-focused musicians based  in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area is led by Brandon Hixon who co-founded the nationally known bands Godfueled and Splendorleaf and had a good bit of success on his own in the Christian music charts a few years ago. Now you can catch these guys playing regularly at Christian music festivals, churchs, and other Christian hang-outs all over North Texas just about every week. Check them out at RacingGravity.com.

Richard Craine – Music

Every time I make Richard Craine of Bristol, England one of my picks, I get an email or two from someone who says Richard’s music has struck a particularly emotional cord. And, if you explore Richard’s unique, heartwarming brand of music for a little while, I’m sure you’ll have a similar experience. But, dang it, every time I put him in the contest, he ends up not getting enough votes to make it past the first or second cut! Geez! How many times do I have to push this guy’s stuff down your throats, people! Dang it! Ya’ll for for him this time! Chech him out at RichardCraine.com.

Rita Faye – Finest Man

Rita is yet another second chancer for you people! I thought her song “Touching You” would be a shoe-in for the Top 5 in last month’s contest, but you people had other crazy ideas. (It finished 11th, dang it!) So, I’m bringing Rita back again this month with a song that may be even more powerful. Make sure you get your stock broker to put Kleenex in your portfolio this month, dang it! Check out Rita’s very intriguing life story at www.hillbilly-music.com/artists/story/index.php?id=13166

Shaun Bryant – Why

This guy from London started getting serious about music just 5 years ago when he was needing some direction in his life and went out to buy his first guitar. Wow. What a story. This guy is good! And his lyrics are as inspiring as you’d think they might be coming from someone with his diverse life experiences. This is at least the second time I’ve made him one of my dang picks, and, like several others I’ve picked this month, I’m sorta pissed at you people for not voting for him more the first go-round. But, dang it. Here’s your chance to redeem yourself. And this is a very redeeming song, don’t ya’ think? Check Shaun out at www.reverbnation.com/shauncbryant among other places on the web.

Sistine Ceiling – Song TBA

This is a very happenin’ bunch of people from Kingsville, Texas, home of Texas A&M University — Kingsville which has probably one of the highest per capita rates of passionate musicians of any place in the dang world. I ran into these people at a little “battle of the bands” deal that I got asked to judge a few weeks back, and they were the overwhelming favorites among us judges (and the crowd too). These people know how to put on a party, for sure. Anyway, I promised that the winners of that dang contest would be one of my future picks in this little contest, so here Sistine Ceiling is. The only problem is that, as of this writing at the start of the month, the guys haven’t quite finished their first recording yet. They said it would be in my in-box a day or so ago, but, as a guy whose projects always take longer than I expect, I’m willing to cut them some slack. (I think most musicians are very familiar with the concept of running behind, too.)  As soon as the track arrives, I’ll slap it on the show (even if it’s not until the middle of the month). In the meantime, it wouldn’t surprise me to find these guys one of the vote leaders right from the start. They have some VERY crazed fans out there in good ole’ Kingsville! Here’s an article that the A&M Kingsville student paper did about these guys.

TBR (Texas Back Roads) – He Keeps Buying Roses

TBR band is led by Lukee (Michael Langran), and, aside from being the guy who organized the above-mentioned Battle for America show, Lukee is also one of the many of my picks this month who have been done wrong by you people in previous editions of this dang contest. Dang it! TBR’s cool song “Floydian Slip Blues” (a tribute to Lukee’s favorite band, Pink Floyd, of course), got less than 10 dang votes last month. DANG IT! Because I know TBR deserves better than that, I’m tossing them out there again with this song (which has already appeared on the show as part of Lukee’s impromptu appearance in my studio last month with his his friend Eddie). Ya’ll make sure you vote for the dang thing this time, dang it! And, in the meantime, if you’re lookin’ for a music studio in the Houston, Texas area, look ole’ Lukee up at his TBR Studios. You can also get involved with his Battle For America project, too.

Xander Demos – Right Angles

This bad-ass guitar player from Pittsburgh is as impressive as any of the great guitar players we’ve had on the show over the years: Chris Dair, Fingers Forbes, Greg Martin, Chris Cooke and all the rest who are no strangers to the HTB audience need to look out, dang it! Whooo hooo! Xander is one hot Demo. Check him out at xanderdemos.com among other places.

See My Previous 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 | June 2011 | July 2011 | August 2011 | September 2011