"Hold on to your rattlesnakes everybody, looks like we're in for a twister! We live in a world of music where the undercurrent can move the whole stream. Thank God for that! Elvis, Johnny, Roy, Bob Dylan… These guys were unconventional and brought an uprising. They changed things. They rattled the boat. Can the artists on this album and the folks at Hillgrass Bluebilly be hip enough to turn the whole world of music upside down? I think it is not only possible but also probable. This music holds to its timeless roots but also lets us hear what is going on at the bottom of the stream, down where the mud sweeps and the darkness dwells.
Where did so much of the good music we all love come from? It came from pain, my friend. It came from the dark netherworld beneath, where so many choose not to look. It came from long nights of whiskey driven remorse and heartbreak extreme. It came from the dire need to let that pain out. Who better to pay due tribute to for this pain inspired music than two of our greatest music gods, Leadbelly and Hank Williams (the original). These guys suffered so we can enjoy their songs, so that we can wake to our singing alarm clocks and to our blissful busy days with their tunes ringing in our ears. They suffered for us, folks, and that needs to be appreciated.
So dive in and take a swim with me, eager and hopeful music fan. Let's go down and investigate the darkness where few ever look. Let us take a hold of the grey and shadowy things that dwell in the murk at the bottom of the river and wrestle them for all they've got. Let's battle them for the songs they hold within their scaly, frigid hides. If we survive, we'll break the surface with some great music."
John Carter Cash
