Danny Barnes / Jimmy Nalls
Danny Barnes became a major player in the evolution of alternative country music when his acoustic trio the Bad Livers broke out of Austin Texas. Danny, Mark Rubin and Ralph White wielded tuba, accordion, fiddle, upright bass and banjo in ways that might have been considered scandalous had they not been so creative, witty and cathartic. They toured with big punk bands and wrote smart, quirky songs. They were able to twist roots and bluegrass music so far by knowing and loving the genres so well. There was never a band like them before or since.
After that chapter closed in about 2000, Danny Barnes pursued projects as wide ranging as his taste, always nipping the avant garde, finding a role in American music somewhere between John Hartford and Frank Zappa. He developed the esthetic he calls barnyard electronics, which he says combines various bits of bluegrass, noise, rock, and electronic music. Live, he often performs solo with computer effects and looping equipment. But this year, Barnes took the completely opposite tack when he made and released the first straight ahead, no-frills bluegrass record of his career, Stove Up.
Also, the story of The Jimmy Nalls Project.