Singer/songwriter/guitarist Tom Feldmann may have been musically weaned on the dirty, back-woods moans and hollers of blues legends like Son House, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and John Lee Hooker, but over the years the inventive young man delved into a plethora of styles, including folk, soul, country, Americana, and gospel – a practice that eventually helped inform the confident, driven performer he is today. Carrying on in the raucous gospel twang tradition of The Louvin Brothers, Gram Parsons, and Uncle Tupelo, Tom Feldmann & The Get-Rites (Feldmann on vocals and his infamous resonator guitar, long-time Ben Weaver/Jack Norton side-man Paul Liebenow on upright bass, and drummer Jed Staack) present a fresh, inspirational batch of country-blues-tinged material that melds, molds, and mixes all of those various influences with their own inimitable flair for lyrical intelligence, musical complexity, and soulful experimentation.
With a voice that ranges from a deep, tremulous quiver ala Nick Cave to a gruff, joyful yell to a hesitant, soulful delivery not unlike prime-era Jim Croce, Feldmann lays out a wide range of original material with all the fire and passion of the best of his musical inspirations. Over the past ten years, he’s toured extensively, both solo and with a revolving cast of players, covering the continental U.S. and Canada and establishing a steadily-growing fan base among a surprising range of music fans. Last year’s release Driven To My Knees was picked up by over 180 college stations nationwide, and received hearty accolades internationally from a variety of critics. Thursday night at Eighth and Rail!
From the Archives — originally published on the Opelika Daily News on September 19, 2007. View the original page.
