Campfire Blues: The JJ Schultz Band

One of my favorite moments in life is when I stumble across a great band that few people have heard of.  There's something about having a band to yourself or your group of friends; the kind of band you can pay eight dollars to see at a local music joint.  

That's why I was so thrilled when a friend introduced me to The JJ Schultz Band.  The JJ Schultz Band is the kind of country band that you want to listen to as you camp out somewhere in the great plains, down cheap cans of beer, and stare at the campfire, enjoying every moment of it.  

There's a great deal of back-porch authenticity to this band.   As you listen to songs like "Drinkin' You Off My Mind," it's easy to picture them playing bar stopping country blues in the local, barn-like tavern of a small country town.  It sometimes reminds me of Johnny Cash playing at Folsom Prison.  

"Speed Train" is a classic, end of the night country ballad that's easy to sway to.  JJ's vocals give the song great soul.

I have yet to see this band live, but it's hard to believe they would be anything but fantastic after listening to their self-titled album, which is on i-tunes.

Here's what the band has to say on their website at http://jjschultz.com/main.php.

"Hailing from the Wisconsin Northwoods, JJ Schultz captures the lonesome middle-America landscape with the wry clarity of Nebraska era Springsteen.  Schultz's wavering vibrato captures the snap shots of everyday people surviving the life of rural America.  The dusty barrooms, the front porch steps and farmer's fields are images delivered with a subtle passion that's balanced between sparse guitar picking and a poignant vocal delivery that is as distinctive as Jay Farrar and Townes Van Zandt."