“Live In The Living Room” with Rodney Parker and the 50 Peso Reward
Rodney Parker & 50 Peso Reward‘s latest disc, Live In The Living Room, is an acoustic recording from one of my favorite Texas bands. One of my favorite bands: there is no need to add the “Texas” qualifier. Culling tracks from their three electric studio discs: Blow The Soot Out, The Lonesome Dirge and The Apology:Part I Rodney and the 50 Peso Reward show what they can do without plugging in. Thirty lucky friends and fans were invited to attend the unamplified listening session for Live In The Living Room which has a intimate folkier feel than the electric studio discs. Parker’s a talented songwriter who paints memorable tales of life, living, heartbreak and heartbreaking.
Rodney’s plaintive voice with a touch of drawl works perfectly with his alt country rural rock in an electric or acoustic setting. Live In The Living Room includes a great cover of Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” by the band (the link is to Rodney’s solo version) and two previously unreleased tracks: “Skin and Bones” is available as a free download courtesy of the boys. Live In The Living Room is destined to be one of my Top Ten discs of 2011. It stands on its own merits but you’d be cheating yourself if you didn’t search out The Lonesome Dirge (2008) too. Rodney was kind enough to take some time and talk a little bit about the disc, the band, Texas and touring.