Product Review

Kevin 'Shinyribs' Russell is known as the front man of the Austin, TX musical combo, The Gourds. Born in Beaumont, raised in The Church Of Christ, he found his calling in the biker bars of Louisiana at the tender age of seventeen playing a hybrid of loud country blues rock and psychedelic swamp jangle for the grumpy ingrates congregated there. Since 1994 The Gourds have become a favorite of the Americana/Hippie Jam/Genre Bending scene.

Russell, in search of an outlet for his massive stockpile of songs, began performing solo shows under the pseudonym Shinyribs as early as 2006. After playing a monthly show in Houston for the two years he honed Shinyribs into one of the most interesting roots music experiences around. A revolving line up of Austin talent has evolved into the current top notch band; Gourds drummer, Keith Langford, Cerebral Pony Bass man Jeff Brown and Kentucky Fried Keyboard Whiz Winfield Cheek.

The sophomore Shinyribs full-length - Gulf Coast Museum - contains another 8 ''tall tales from Texas'' and a faithful cover of the 1972 Harlod Melvin smash hit If You Don't Know Me By Now, rendered on ukulele and sung by Russell and Brandy Zdan.

As always, Russell's songwriting chops are on full display. Witness the lead off lines to Sweeter Than The Scars, a melancholy tune about memories and regret:

Dreams are about the future, Songs about the past
Sometimes It takes a suture, to make the feeling last

Or these lines from Sweet Potato, likely the only song in existence that sounds like Prince backed by The Band:

The cowboy talks like an antique phone
The cowboy walks like a bag o' bones
That cowboy dreams of a lovely girl
To heal his wounds and his soul as well

With the documentary on The Gourds, All The Labor, starting to make the festival rounds, interest in Shinyribs is bound to catch a ride on that train and grow.