Album Notes

Basic description:
Indie-rock/alt-country from the mountains of Western North Carolina. The Worthless Son-in-Laws blend truck-driving rockers with pastoral daydream soundtracks and meditative, melody-laden pop songs.

"The Worthless Son-in-Laws fuse their laid-back roots sound with the jangle-pop sounds of NC band the dB's and Chris Stamey, while also recalling Son Volt and possibly a hint of the Decemberists." - Shout Magazine

"One of the High Country's premiere alternative country bands."--The Mountain Times

Bio:
The Worthless Son-in-Laws are a Boone, North Carolina-based band formed in the wee hours of 2004. You could call their music New South Underground, or say their long and diverse musical histories inform a mixture of acoustic indie rock, electric southern rock, American roots music, and 80's punk and 90's pop rhythms. But that might make you think they were Kansas. Really, it’s more like XTC crammed in a VW mini-bus with Uncle Tupelo. Or early REM grafted onto Lynyrd Skynyrd. Or Joni Mitchell ghostwriting the autobiography of Little Feat.

The Worthless Son-in-Laws recently played at Merlefest 2007. Merlefest director Claire Armbruster wrote on the Merlefest discussion boards: “I think that the hot new bands for 2007 [include]...the Worthless Son-in-Laws....They’ve all just knocked my socks off.” There was no mention of the suitcase full of unmarked bills. The Son-in-Laws also play around the Carolinas and sometimes in Tennessee. They have a CD called “Sort of Back to Having a Life.”

Jimmy Davidson (acoustic guitar/vocals) and Rob Brown (electric guitar/vocals) write songs about t-shirt shops and Mississippi highways and weddings and antique televisions. Jimmy draws from his work experiences, mostly, and flips through Bryan Garner’s Dictionary of Modern American Usage for inspiration, while Rob’s muse is his latent desire to be a truck driver (he is, in truth, a university professor). Rich Crepeau (bass guitar, PhD) plays bass and writes a sinister country-punk number his own self now and then. And, he’s on the Boone Board of Adjustment. Aaron Cummings (drums) plays drums and the Star Wars version of Trivial Pursuit. His dog’s name really is Wompa. As long as we’re talking drums and dropping names, Jimmy used to play drums and guitar with songwriter Vic Chesnutt. Toy drums. The Worthless Son-in-Laws like Gram Parsons a lot. They can’t agree on much else. Except that pretty much anytime is a good time to have dessert. But, duh.