On July 17, we are pleased to be sharing the stage with Balthrop, Alabama, a raucous group from Brooklyn by way of the mystical (and completely made-up) town of, well, Balthrop, Alabama.  And they have Balthrop as their last names, Traveling Wilburys-style.  

What’s very cool is that they wrote a song dedicated to musicians who have committed suicide, notably Elliott Smith.  Whether you can tell or not, Elliott Smith is a huge influence on us.  Just a ridiculous musician who knew how to combine a fragile voice with piercing lyrics.  But what really gets us is the musicianship – he was a hell of a guitarist, and his songs are just, for lack of a better word, interesting.  He’s known for soft, dramatic finger-picking, but his prowess in arranging great rock songs (complete with rollicking keyboard parts and spooky guitar sounds) deserves a lot more attention.  Go buy Figure 8.  And check out this whole show from 2000.

We digress.  Balthrop, Alabama’s song is called “Subway Horns” and was an NPR Song of the Day.  You can check it out here, and then check it out live (we hope) at our show on July 17 at the Lizard, where we won’t be as morbid, promise.