Country Music Royalty Joins ALTCO and Mastodon Gets A Special Guest, The Latest From Altco Music

Gary Lindsey OF Black Eyed Vermillion contemplates a haunted piano. Photo Joetta Velasquez

Follow all things Altco Music

ALTCO is more than happy to announce a new addition to our roster! The Rhinestone Princess Shelli Coe. Shelli and her Manager / Bass player John Duer have been a part of our extended family for nearly a decade and we are glad to have them aboard. The daughter of Country Music legend David Allan Coe has been in the business all her life performing, writing and recording. We will be re releasing her full length disc "A Girl Like Me" in the next few weeks and giving you a little more insight on her brand of real Country Music.

Next little matter of business we have to discuss regards a certain Mr. Gary Lindsey of Black Eyed Vermillion. He will be appearing courtesy of ALTCO Recordings as guest vocalist on the upcoming Mastodon release Once more round the Sun available June 24th from Warner Bros. Gary and the guys in Mastodon share a mutual history and musical family tree from band like 4 hour Fogger and Knuckle.

As we mentioned in an earlier post the new Black Eyed Vermillion release is under production as we speak and promises to be the most creative work to date. The Box Of Pine Single is out in digital format.

AJ Fosik's Monsters Mix Well With Mastodon

Have you ever heard the name of AJ Fosik? I sure as hell hadn't, as of this morning. The funny part is that that I already knew his work through one of his other projects. Finding tidbits such as this which pop up during a random commercial makes for an interesting day.

AJ Fosik's mask sculpture for Mastodon's album The Hunter

Now here is the thing that we know about AJ Fosik. Chances are you have seen his iconic cover created for Mastodon's album The Hunter. Visually it is stunning and once you see the process of his work, it gets even more interesting. His approach is three dimensional and uses a variety of material to make the work come to life.

Dive into more of his work through images from Flickr, videos from youtube, with Mastodon's Curl of the Burl while you check it out. Or you can also check out the Noteworthy Project put on by Samsung, as that is where I found one of the videos below about his work.

AJ Fosik's - The Third Way Out

AJ Fosik's - The Time & The Way

AJ Fosik mask sculpture

Hellbound Glory Tops Farce The Music's Top Albums Of 2011

"The boys went and growed up on us. While Hellbound Glory is still infatuated with the darker subjects - addiction, dysfunctional families and death, in particular - their songwriting has improved a great deal since their last album. Not that it was ever bad. It's just that this time around the songs are better developed. The hooks are hookier and the subject matter comes across more naturally - it no longer feels like they're trying to shoehorn in every deviant behavior and curse word they can, just because they can. This is a band on the rise and with material this good, they may eventually break down the wall between alt and country. Best tracks: Better Hope You Die Young, Knocked Off the Horse." - Farce The Music

Link over to Farce The Music

Hellbound Glory featured in Farce The Music's 2011 Top Ten List

The Full List of Farce The Music's Best of 2011

1. The Damn Quails - Down the Hatch My tastes were more oriented towards roots-music this year than any in recent memory and The Damn Quails put out a stunning debut that satisfied my yearnings like no other. The unique voices of Bryon and Gabriel combine for divine harmonies and their writing is the class of contemporary bands that fall into the "red dirt" scene, or nearly any scene for that matter. There isn't a weak song on the offering and what's more, nearly every tune spent time lodged in my brain on replay at one point or another. Brilliant work, epic even. Best songs: All of them, but if you must have 1 or 2 …"Fool's Gold" and "Mary" always slay me.

2. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Here We Rest Wrapped around the undeniable song of the year, "Codeine," is an album that more than pulls its own weight. Isbell fans may have hoped for something louder, but what they got was an artist-defining gem of a southern rock and soul record. Strong lyrics, excellent musicianship and plenty of easy-to-love melodies make this an album most anyone can appreciate, and true music lovers will adore. Best tracks: Codeine, Alabama Pines.

3. Hellbound Glory - Damaged Goods The boys went and growed up on us. While Hellbound Glory is still infatuated with the darker subjects - addiction, dysfunctional families and death, in particular - their songwriting has improved a great deal since their last album. Not that it was ever bad. It's just that this time around the songs are better developed. The hooks are hookier and the subject matter comes across more naturally - it no longer feels like they're trying to shoehorn in every deviant behavior and curse word they can, just because they can. This is a band on the rise and with material this good, they may eventually break down the wall between alt and country. Best tracks: Better Hope You Die Young, Knocked Off the Horse.

4. Hayes Carll - KMAG YOYO What else is there to say about Hayes? Rapier wit. Songwriting that recalls the greats of country and folk music. Memorable, affable voice. Actually has something to say. Just enough weirdness to keep him a little mysterious. Check, to all of those. This guy's the real deal; one of the few artists I'll buy an album from without hearing a single note. He never disappoints, never rests on his accolades. Thanks for another winner, Hayes! Best tracks: Another Like You, Chances Are.

5. Jimbo Mathus - Confederate Buddha Jimbo calls this "catfish music," and I see no better way to describe it. Confederate Buddha is a melting pot for southern music - R&B, rock, folk, country and swamp soul, all mixed, matched and sifted out at different times on the record. Mathus' writing is in turns poetic, straight-forward or abstract, all expertly crafted and emotionally performed. Best tracks: Cling to the Roots, Aces and Eights.

6. Cary Anne Hearst - Lions and Lambs Bonnie Raitt, Janis Joplin and Neko Case in a blender vocals. Transgendered Hayes Carll songwriting chops. That was weird. …this album is great. Best tracks: Are You Ready to Die, Hell's Bells

7. Butch Walker and the Black Widows - The Spade The in-demand producer of #6/former hair band member/former 90's alt-rock band, the jack - nay master - of all trades turns in this hook-driven smorgasbord of power pop, hard rock and jangly country-flavored rave-up goodness. This album alongside #8 would make a killer party soundtrack. Best tracks: Synthesizers, Suckerpunch

8. The Black Keys - El Camino If this is a sellout, I wish every artist who's been accused of such had such a well-done betrayal of ideals. The Black Keys expand their blues rock sound to (bluesy) glam rock and power pop without missing a step or making it sound contrived. Sometimes you just need to turn off your inner-critic and enjoy. Fun, fun, fun! Best tracks: Gold on the Ceiling, Nova Baby

9. Adele - 21 Adele somehow straddles the huge divide between modern pop and "old people" soul music with great success. Even the songs that lack lyrically are made great by Adele's huge (but never diva-esque) voice. There hasn't been an artist in some time that brought together so many people in mutual admiration. This is a chick album that dudes can be unashamed to love. It's an old-school album that kids can groove to. Excellence. Best tracks - Rolling in the Deep, Someone Like You.

10. Ponderosa - Moonlight Revival Sounding like the Black Crowes by way of Muscle Shoals, Ponderosa is a super-talented band of southern rockers who mostly steer clear of the clichés of the genre. Kalen Bush's lead vocals are stirring and the harmonies take their sound over the top. Ponderosa isn't reinventing the wheel here, but what they do, they do very well. Best tracks: Old Gin Road, Devil on My Shoulder.

11. Austin Lucas - A New Home, In the Old World

12. Kasey Anderson and the Honkies - Heart of a Dog

13. Stoney Larue - Velvet

14. Drew Kennedy - Fresh Water in the Salton Sea

15. Ryan Adams - Ashes and Fire

16. Pistol Annies - Hell on Heels

17. Wilco - The Whole Love

18. Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears - Scandalous

19. Mastodon - The Hunter

20. Will Hoge - Number Seven

21. Scott H. Biram - Bad Ingredients

22. Miranda Lambert - Four the Record

23. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

24. Justin Haigh - People Like Me

25. Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra

26. Frank Turner - England Keep My Bones

27. Larry Hooper - Between Here and the Stars

28. Bon Iver - s/t

29. Sunny Sweeney - Concrete

30. Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin'

31. Bad Meets Evil - Hell (The Sequel)

32. Left Lane Cruiser - Junkyard Speed Ball

33. Centro-matic - Candidate Waltz

34. Big KRIT - Return of 4Eva

35. The Decemberists - The King is Dead

36. F*cked Up - David Comes to Life

37. Merle Haggard - Working in Tennessee

38. Eli Young Band - Life at Best

39. Adam Hood - The Shape of Things

40. JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound - Want More

41. Glossary - Long Live All of Us

42. Mike Ethan Messick - The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday

43. Blitzen Trapper - American Goldwing

44. Dawes - Nothing is Wrong

45. Cody Canada and The Departed - This is Indian Land

46. The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow

47. George Strait - Here for a Good Time

48. Robyn Ludwick - Out of These Blues

49. John Moreland & The Dust Bowl Souls - Everything the Hard Way

50. Jason Boland and the Stragglers - Rancho Alto

Hells Yes - New Mastodon - Curl of the Burl

Need we say any more...