30db
''ONE MAN SHOW''
MAY 11 2010
46:55
1 One Man Show 04:29
2 Always Up 02:53
3 Susanah 03:35
4 Liar 03:51
5 Backfire 03:21
6 Automatic 03:55
7 Number Six 03:54
8 Grave 04:46
9 Return Item 01:50
10 Instrumental In D 01:57
11 Get In Line 04:15
12 One More 03:03
13 Wamala 01:37
14 Backbone 03:23
All Tracks By Jeff Austin, Brendan Bayliss
Brendan Bayliss - Guitar
Jeff Austin - Mandolin
Cody Dickinson - Drums, Percussion, Keyboards
Nick Forster - Guitar
Eric Thorin - Bass Guitar
REVIEW/AMG
by William Ruhlmann
***1/2 / *****
30db's debut album is called One Man Show, but it's really a two-man show, since this side project represents the duo of singer/songwriter/mandolin player Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band and singer/songwriter/guitarist Brendan Bayliss of Umphrey's McGee, who apparently met on the jam band circuit and bonded over their shared hometown of Chicago. (This group of musicians who continue to be members of other ongoing bands is filled out by guitarist Nick Forster of Hot Rize, bassist Eric Thorin of Open Road, and drummer Cody Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars.) Another thing they had in common, according to their press bio, is that "both witnessed the end of long-term relationships," and when they began writing together for One Man Show, that experience was their inspiration. As it turns out, however, neither seems to have completely digested the experience sufficiently to render it coherently in lyrics. "Every time I try to tell the story/It seems to backfire," admits Austin in "Backfire," and Bayliss is equally tongue-tied in "Get in Line," singing, "If it's all made up, then I could never/Speak enough to lay it all out." But if the two artists cannot manage to detail their troubles, they do succeed in conveying a sense of distress. Still, they speak better with their fingers. However unhappy the words, the music is consistently engaging. Veering from catchy pop/rock to newgrass country-rock, 30db effectively play tunes sprightly enough to suggest that Austin and Bayliss may be healed by their artistry as musicians, even if they never get around to talking their heartaches out.
ABOUT THE BAND/AMG
by William Ruhlmann
30db is a side project comprised of members of other groups. The founders are mandolin player Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band and guitarist Brendan Bayliss of Umphrey's McGee, who added Cody Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars on drums, percussion, and keyboards; Nick Forster of Hot Rize on guitar; and Eric Thorin of Open Road on bass. The band released an album, One Man Show, on SCI Fidelity Records on May 11, 2010, and played a handful of shows around the release date to promote it.
TO THE TOP
''ONE MAN SHOW''
MAY 11 2010
46:55
1 One Man Show 04:29
2 Always Up 02:53
3 Susanah 03:35
4 Liar 03:51
5 Backfire 03:21
6 Automatic 03:55
7 Number Six 03:54
8 Grave 04:46
9 Return Item 01:50
10 Instrumental In D 01:57
11 Get In Line 04:15
12 One More 03:03
13 Wamala 01:37
14 Backbone 03:23
All Tracks By Jeff Austin, Brendan Bayliss
Brendan Bayliss - Guitar
Jeff Austin - Mandolin
Cody Dickinson - Drums, Percussion, Keyboards
Nick Forster - Guitar
Eric Thorin - Bass Guitar
REVIEW/AMG
by William Ruhlmann
***1/2 / *****
30db's debut album is called One Man Show, but it's really a two-man show, since this side project represents the duo of singer/songwriter/mandolin player Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band and singer/songwriter/guitarist Brendan Bayliss of Umphrey's McGee, who apparently met on the jam band circuit and bonded over their shared hometown of Chicago. (This group of musicians who continue to be members of other ongoing bands is filled out by guitarist Nick Forster of Hot Rize, bassist Eric Thorin of Open Road, and drummer Cody Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars.) Another thing they had in common, according to their press bio, is that "both witnessed the end of long-term relationships," and when they began writing together for One Man Show, that experience was their inspiration. As it turns out, however, neither seems to have completely digested the experience sufficiently to render it coherently in lyrics. "Every time I try to tell the story/It seems to backfire," admits Austin in "Backfire," and Bayliss is equally tongue-tied in "Get in Line," singing, "If it's all made up, then I could never/Speak enough to lay it all out." But if the two artists cannot manage to detail their troubles, they do succeed in conveying a sense of distress. Still, they speak better with their fingers. However unhappy the words, the music is consistently engaging. Veering from catchy pop/rock to newgrass country-rock, 30db effectively play tunes sprightly enough to suggest that Austin and Bayliss may be healed by their artistry as musicians, even if they never get around to talking their heartaches out.
ABOUT THE BAND/AMG
by William Ruhlmann
30db is a side project comprised of members of other groups. The founders are mandolin player Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band and guitarist Brendan Bayliss of Umphrey's McGee, who added Cody Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars on drums, percussion, and keyboards; Nick Forster of Hot Rize on guitar; and Eric Thorin of Open Road on bass. The band released an album, One Man Show, on SCI Fidelity Records on May 11, 2010, and played a handful of shows around the release date to promote it.
TO THE TOP