San Saba County has always carried their country with more rock sensibilities, but over the past couple of years has progressed beyond the typical alt. country sensibility to add a more indie sheen. Though the dark and dusty poeticism of their first two albums remains, their long-awaited third release, planned for release this fall and previewed with the stunning song “Winter Solstice” for download below, promises to expand their sound – “Winter Solstice” wringing with light harmonies and heavy allegories in the vein of Calexico. You can catch them previewing more new material this Friday, July 11, at the Hole in the Wall with You Were Always and KingAir.
Profile: San Saba County
Year Formed:
Proper 2003
Members/Instruments played:
Chris Wellington – e-guitar, banjo, accordion, harmonica back-up vox
Tyler Mallory* – bass
Robby N. Gaines – drums
John Saba – acoustic guitar, vox
Bill McCullough – pedal steel – plays when he can which is not a lot (see: www.billmcculloughphotography.com).
* (recently replacing Shawn Slack who hung it up of late to spend more time with his new daughter).
Former Bands/Side Projects:
Robby – Side projects: The Hookers, The Gay sportscasters, tortilla flats; Former: the Achievers, Gross National Product, Nathan Hamilton, etc.
Wellington – Frontage Rd., Several garage bands
Tyler – Western Keys, Lowery 66, Silver Scooter, Bright and Hollow Sky
John – Live Band, live band, live band!, Frontage Rd., a brief stint in Black Lipstick in between bass players.
Albums:
Easy Does It – (self) 2004
It’s Not the Fall that Hurts (India Records) – 2006
[New Rekord t/b/a] – Fall 2008
Influences:
5th grade girlfriends and R.E.M.
Strangest comment or comparison ever made about your music:
“Après un 1er effort (Easy Does It, 2004) franchement alt-country, le 2ème album de San Saba County, It’s Not The Fall That Hurts, se veut plus varié comme le prouve le morceau d’ouverture, More Than Me, à l’humeur plus urbaine que désertique. Psalm 102 est une chanson plus prévisible de la part des Texans mais c’est néanmoins la meilleure du disque : une mélodie plaintive basée sur une ligne de banjo irrésistible. Medicine sonne comme la récolte d’un voyage dans le futur : imaginez donc, Jeff Tweedy et Jay Farrar auraient reformé Uncle Tupelo! San Saba County continue à surprendre tout le long du disque, aussi à l’aise dans le honky-tonk (Oh, And One More Thing…, Hell To Pay) que dans la pop western (le très Old 97’s Springtime, New Morning). Nul doute qu’avec leur subtil mélange d’influences savamment digérées, San Saba County fasse bientôt la fierté de la petite localité du Texas dont le groupe a tiré son nom”
Favorite local bands:
What Made Milwaukee Famous, Spoon, The Diagonals, Okkerville River, Hollywood Gossip (or any band with Tom Hudson), Soundteam (r.i.p.), Richard Buckner, You Were Always. (I guess some of those aren’t really local no more).
Favorite local venue:
Continental Club.
Upcoming shows scheduled:
Friday, July 11, 2008 – Hole
Friday, July 25, 2008 – Jovitas (this will be a “country” set)
Shows over the next month that you’re excited to see (other bands):
Hold Steady (estoy rob gaines), Silver Jews
Some of your favorite albums from the past year:
Tyler: Spoon (Series of Sneaks)
Wellington: What Made Milwaukee Famous (What doesn’t kill us)
Robby: Hold Stead, Hold Steady, Hold Steady (Stay Positive)
John: Silver Jews (the Natural bridge )
Ideal band (past or present) to open for on a national tour:
the [country] stones
Austin Sound questions:
We love y’all’s tagline of “post.alt.country,” so have to ask what exactly y’all interpret that as.
You get into some serious trouble by invoking the word “post.”
Alt.country sort of took a backseat, at least nationally, at the turn of the century and morphed into this style of music that hints of country…maybe because straight country or alterative country can be pretty limiting at times and folks needed to grow/expand, (i.e. wilco), blah blah blah. Regardless, our definition of that sub-genre is based in country, but cloaked in sounds of the 21st century. What?
I believe I read that y’all have been working on the next album. When are y’all hoping to get it out, and what can we expect from it?
Long Answer: The new album has been (9) months in the works. We will finish it this summer, but we’ve taken our time. What’s the rush? You don’t want a half-assed record do you? The “post-alt.country” theme is a good tie in. We spend time recording raw live tracks in a studio with basic songs and song structure, and then end up layering them until they are morphed into a completely different song. We pulled out all the stops for this record.
Short answer: ½ indie rock, ½ traditional.
Song Introduction:
This is called “Winter Solstice” – it’s a post-break up song, prolly the last.
Sound Off:
“Though the music business is in sad shape, take heart. No real musician is ever in it for business reasons. And as long as America still has garages, bedrooms, six-packs, and guitars (or turntables, sitars, and Moogs), real rock and roll & [country] will never die.” Phillip E. Niemeyer*, 2000 Village Voice.
* first bass player of San Saba County, Black Lipstick extraordinaire, and first cousin of John Saba.
Mp3:
Winter Solstice
Websites:
Myspace
www.sansabco.com
