Search - Truckstop Honeymoon :: Diamonds in the Asphalt

They keep getting better

W. D. Hoch | Aspen, CO | 09/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"We all love to observe how artists' writing evolve from one album to the next, and "Diamonds in the Asphalt" seems to naturally rise another step higher in this talented duo's progression of thoroughly honest and original recordings. It also helps to learn some of their history and what has affected their songwriting.



Mike West and Katie Euliss lived in New Orleans and were on tour in Florida when Hurricane Katrina struck the Emerald City, leaving their house and home recording studio, the Ninth Ward Pickin' Parlor, under more than eight feet of water. All they had left was what they had in their car, so they headed north in search of a new life. After a brief stay in Wichita, Kansas, they ended up in the university town of Lawrence and have set down new roots and continue to nurture their two daughters and their unique blend of rockabilly/hillbilly/bluegrass/punk.



I was a bit skeptical upon first listen of their self-titled 2003 album, which which seemed to start off a little seedy and sketchy, but each song got progressivly better, and by the end of the disk, I was grinning and bopping along with every track.



Their 2004 release, "Christmas in Ocala," (which was the first album of theirs I bought) instantly grabbed me with the opening track, "Walk of Shame," which chronicles a woman making her way back home the morning after a martini-laden night on the town and a nameless, faceless one-night-stand. The album continues with slice-of-life ditties, sprinkled with infectious banjo, guitar, mandolin and percussion, and even a brief cameo of the seldom-heard saw (yes, an actual wood-cutting saw) on "Weeki Wachee Mermaid." The CD includes rollicking bluegrass-ish numbers, a couple ballads, a dash of political bad-mouthing, and general feel-good tunes, with musical hooks that will have you humming them instantly and listening to them over and over to catch the clever lyrics.



"Delivery Boy," from 2005, continued with their trademark blend of all manner of styles and tempos, yet each with the homespun backwoods insight that only comes from experiencing each topic first-hand, or at least observing them from over the back yard fence.



Their fourth album, "Diamonds in the Asphalt," continues to tap the seemingly bottomless well of life these two call their own, celebrating the redneck persona of life on the road, truckstops, drug use, nursery rhymes, wistful memories of youth, and the promise of a brighter future on the road ahead, as the album's title suggests.



I ordered their most recent album, "Great Big Family" from their website and am anxiously awating its arrival. Simply put, I love these guys. I just wish I had known they lived in Lawrence when I visited there a couple months ago. I would have called them up and offered to buy them both a beer or six! Great stuff & highly recomended!"