Artist description The Shiners are a family of like-minded southern musicians that owe equal debts to old-time traditional music and punk-influenced twang.

Music Style Alt-country, No Depression, insurgent country, Appalachian stomp, honky-tonk, southern rock

Musical Influences Charlie Poole, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Michael Hurley, Graham Parsons, Townes Van Zandt

Similar Artists Whiskytown, Drive By Truckers, Waco Brothers, Slobberbone, Hangdogs, Truckadelic, Ex-Husbands, Deliberate Strangers, The Gourds, 16 Horsepower, Southern Culture On The Skids, Dirtball

Artist History When Wes and Jyl Freed of the band Dirtball felt that it was time for a new project their long-time fans feared the worst. Would this be the end of a fifteen-year ride? However, with the help of some of their friends--and the staff of their record label--Wes & Jyl quickly found themselves with a new band on their hands, and after performances in Atlanta, Chicago, Lansing, and Baltimore under the interim name Dirtball Jr. they?ve decided to change their name to better fit their new identity. The Shiners is the name of this new project. The new members of the band bring many different influences to the table, but listeners will still hear echoes of the many incarnations of Dirtball in their sound. The set list for upcoming shows reflects this--in addition to some of the Dirtball standards, The Shiners have written a slew of new songs for their debut record Bonnie Blue released 01/15/2002 on Planetary Records. Things have changed just as much as they have stayed the same, and the music will be as different as it is familiar.

Group Members Wes & Jyl Freed will still be holding down the primary vocal duties for the band, although Jyl will also be playing guitar on a few numbers. Joining them on upright bass is Greg Harrup, a veteran of many rockabilly and roots acts including Robert Gordon, The Cashmere Jungle Lords, and Chrome Daddy Disco. On guitar is Planetary Records label manager Steve Douglas (GWAR, Log, Death Piggy, Snakehandlers). Steve and Wes also performed together in Mudd Helmet and founded the original Dirtball. Sharing guitar duties (and also making The Shiners truly a family affair) is Terry Terror Douglas, Steve?s wife and art director of Plan 9 Music/Planetary. Terry has performed with Log, Pleasure Astro and Bebot and also plays accordion and banjo with the band. Rounding out the lineup is Brian Larson (Lazycain, Planetary promotion director) on drums and Erin Snyder on fiddle and cello. Guest musicians include The Drive-By Truckers, Kirk Rundstrom of Split Lip Rayfield on dobro, Paul Watson of Sparklehorse on cornet, and Travis Charbeneau on steel guitar.

Instruments Vocals, Guitars, Banjo, Accordion, Dobro, Steel, Upright Bass, Drums & Percussion

Albums Bonnie Blue is the full-length debut from The Shiners. Also available: Hillbilly Soul, The Well, Turn Up The Barn. To purchase contact Planetary Records (www.planetaryrecords.com).

Press Reviews Outlaw Mentality Hank Williams III /The Shiners writer: JUSTIN HOPPER /PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER t's a little bit eerie to look at Hank Williams III. It's odd to hear him, too -- his prickly, warbly tenor may not have that magical broken confidence that made his grandfather the greatest singer in country music history, but it's pretty damn similar. In photos, however, Hank III's long-faced, ghostly pallor is downright spooky in its resemblance. Musically, too, Hank III has a lot more of his grandpa's ear and attitude than, say, his father -- the remarkably successful Hank Williams Jr. In the new issue of alt-country digest No Depression, Hank III talks about rebel honky-tonker Wayne Hancock, who penned three of the 13 tracks on Hank's debut Risin' Outlaw (Curb Records). "Wayne is my only true friend in country music," Hank III says. Neither of these singers feels the need to pander to Nashville's cookie-cutter, post-Shania vision of country music. "Wayne showed me that it's a lot more important to have the respect of Texas than Tennessee." That sentiment is the bond that ties Hank Williams III and lesser-known Richmond, Va., Southern rebel band The Shiners, who each play Pittsburgh separately this Saturday night. Spectacular country-music pedigree aside, both Hank and The Shiners come from somewhat similar musical backgrounds: Each started life playing punk rock, and gradually slid into an equally rebellious vein of country music. Hank III, in fact, still alternates his sets between weepy country, stompin' honky-tonk, and moshpit-inducing punk rock. But according to Steve Douglas, guitarist for The Shiners (and one-time Pittsburgh-area resident), it's not just for his music that Hank III has earned the respect of the alt-country community. Hank's also chosen to forego the attitude problems that accompany your average household name. "We've played with Hank III at the local equivalent of Rosebud," says Douglas, on the phone from his Richmond office. "Opening acts always run the risk of getting shuttled to the side, but when we showed up they were sound-checking, and we started talking to their steel guitar player. Not only did he ask if we needed him to move his stuff, [when] I said, 'Not if you play with us,' he ended up playing the entire set with us -- never having heard it before -- and never missed a beat." The Shiners have their own way of avoiding the suicidal trappings of Nashville: Rather than searching for a record label, the band brought one in from the start. Douglas and drummer Brian Larson work at Planetary Records, the Richmond label that released Shiners' singers Wes and Jyl Freed's first band, Dirtball. "They disbanded -- right before a Pittsburgh show, actually -- and I talked to Wes about what his musical plans were, and he said he was gonna look for a new guitar player and start a new band," says Douglas. "I said, 'Keep me up to date,' and hung up. About a minute later, I turned around and called him back and said, 'Hey let's do something!'" Douglas joined the husband-and-wife Freeds in what was soon to become The Shiners. Along with his co-worker Larson, Steve's wife, Teresa Douglas, contributes banjo, making the group tight-knit in more than just musical ways. A little while back, the Steel City contributed to The Shiners through local musician-about-town Erin Snyder; according to Douglas, she fits right in. "It's a real family unit," says Douglas. "Erin, we've adopted into the family. When Dirtball played [in Pittsburgh], they met Erin and fell in love with her, and Wes and Jill became great friends with her. It is a very tight unit -- we're older and have been through a lot of the bullshit with other bands, and because of that it's very much a group effort." On Bonnie Blue, their new Planetary album, The Shiners produce a roughshod type of Southern gothic country music, based on acoustic instruments but with the dark aggression of an Appalachian Bad Seeds or Gun Club. The title track and "Crow Holler" exemplify their combination of a raucous hillbilly sound and Civil War-era, romanticized lyrics ("Now I'm on the run / with my laudanum and my gun / headed for the bridge that leads me home"). But, according to Douglas, it's songs like "We Won't Break The Circle" ("My granddaddy taught me how to live off the land / Grandma took me to the church to pray") that really portray The Shiners' point of view. "I remember my grandparents taking me out to their farmhouse with the outhouse and the chickens running around," says Douglas. "There's only one generation between that old world [and us]. There's a spirituality that's still maintained, the values of family life, and growing your own vegetables or whatever. We wanted our music to be cohesive and regional, to carry the sound of the past and the future of the Deep South and Appalachian region." As a salute to that Southern pride, The Shiners included on their new album "I'm A Good Ol' Rebel" -- a song written by Innis Randolph, a soldier of the Confederacy in the Civil War. While a bit harsher than the typical Shiners fare ("But I killed a chance of Yankees / And I'd like to kill some mo'"), the anachronistic language isn't out of place on Bonnie Blue.

Additional Info You can also check out The Shiners on The Thrillbillys Soundtrack, along with lots of their friends. (www.planetaryrecords.com)

Location Richmond, VA - USA

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